He Could Be the One
by allyxocorbin
Summary: Chad and Sharpay become friends and maybe more while going to U of A, but what will the return of Troy and the possibility of Troypay mean for Chadpay? Will Sharpay get what she's always wanted or lose what she never thought she needed? Chadpay, Troypay
1. Prologue

New story!!! You guys have no idea how excited I am to finally post this story for you guys to read! I started writing it back in May for a challenge thing and it's been completely finished for a month, but I've had to wait to post it (because of the rules). But now that I can post it, I'm super excited. haha It's different from my other stories, but I think you guys will like it.

There are twelve chapters total, well ten chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue, so my plan is to post a chapter every Saturday until it's all up.

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

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**Prologue**

Pacing the bathroom of the winery, she was scared out of her mind. She'd performed thousands of times and had never once experience stage freight; but here she was, minutes from giving the most important monologue of her entire life, and all she felt like doing was throwing up.

She'd recited monologues before, hundreds of them, but what made this one different from the rest was that this one was not written by some aging playwright for a character in a play, it was her words from her heart to her beloved. Her past, present and, most importantly, her future were dependent on the words written on the notecards she had written.

She wished there could be some other way to declare her love then in a very public maid-of-honor speech, but he refused to be around her, much less speak to her. But here, at their friends' wedding, he would have to stay and listen to her speech and, with everyone else in attendance, hear the words meant only for him. The words that said she was sorry for what she had done and that he, and no one else, was the one for her.

Never in her life had she pictured herself at this crossroad. She had gotten what she'd wanted for years only to find out that it wasn't what she really wanted or needed. All the signs had been there; she just hadn't realized it until it was too late.

She had taken him for granted, she could see that now, but she would do anything to get him back. Even if that meant that she had to leave the bathroom of the winery, walk down to the room the reception was in then, in front of his family and friends, declare her love for him and tell him he was the one for her.

She couldn't chicken out. She owed it to the both of them to be the strong, confident woman he had helped her become. Even if it backfired and she was left embarrassed, it would be worth it, because he would know the truth: she loved him.


	2. Chapter 1

Ok. I lied. After I posted the prologue (like thirty seconds ago), I decided it was too short to make you guys wait a whole week for the first chapter. So I'm posting the first chapter as well today, but you guys will have to wait a week for the second chapter.

Can't wait read your reviews!

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**Chapter 1**

The first time Sharpay had laid eyes on Troy Bolton, she had been in love. From the first day of high school until her freshman year of college, her dreams had been filled with images of East High's golden boy: the way his dark locks of his hair swept across his face, the sparkle of his sexy blue eyes, the dimples that appeared when he smiled, and the way his bronze muscular chest looked when he took off his shirt. He had been the perfect male except for one little flaw: he hadn't returned her affection.

Troy's lack of interest hadn't stopped her from pursuing him, however. The chase had begun in Ms. Darbus' homeroom and had only ended because they had gone to different colleges. During the four in between years, Sharpay had done everything a teenage girl did to let a guy know she's interested: flirted with him, laughed at his jokes, asked to borrow a pencil, stared at him, asked him to dances; but nothing had worked.

During freshman year, Sharpay had focused on gaining information on Troy: where he lived, his favorite activities, what music he was into, etc. She had studied him like she would study a character in a play. She had even gone as far as feigning interest in basketball for several weeks in hopes that it would attract his attention, but after several weeks it had become apparent that it hadn't made a difference.

Determined to be Troy's girlfriend, Sharpay had taken the "girl power" route in sophomore year. She had started by pretending to not be interesting in him anymore, but that had fallen by the wayside within a couple weeks when she had realized he hadn't been pining after what he "couldn't" have. After that she had spent the rest of the school year asking him to dances, but he had turned her down every time, saying he had plans to play basketball with his friends, or as she referred to them the "basketball robots."

Never having been one to give up, Sharpay had returned junior year confident that her summer of scheming would pay off. She had wasted no time with her Operation: Troy's Girlfriend mission and had launched it on the first day back, only to immediately hit a snag she hadn't planned on: Chad Danforth. Chad was Troy's best friend and had been the leader of the basketball robots. From the launch onwards, it had seemed like every time she had put a plan into action, Chad had been there to run interference so Troy could get away. Christmas break had given Sharpay a chance to regroup and create new plans. On the first day back in January, she had been ready for anything.

Except _her_: the new girl, Gabriella Montez. Sharpay had disliked her the moment the dark haired beauty had walked into Ms. Darbus' classroom, especially after the way Troy had stared doe eyed after her. The dislike had increased even more after she had spotted Troy following Gabriella like a puppy and then when Gabriella had buddied up with Taylor McKessie, the goody-goody that Sharpay had known since kindergarten.

The next year and a half had been miserable for Sharpay: every time she had thought one of her break-Troy-and-Gabriella-up plans had worked, something had always backfired and then Troy and Gabriella would be stronger than before. It also hadn't helped that the basketball robots had followed Troy's lead and had paired up with goody-goody girlfriends of their own; one of them, Zeke Baylor, had even asked her out, and in a last ditch effort to make Troy jealous, Sharpay had agreed to become his girlfriend. Troy hadn't even blinked an eye.

In the spring of senior year, Sharpay had hoped that Troy and Gabriella would part ways since everyone had known Gabriella was headed to Stanford and Troy was headed to the University of Albuquerque with Chad. With that in mind, Sharpay's day dreams had featured her consoling a heart broken Troy and her informing Julliard that she couldn't accept their scholarship (who, in response, would be beg her to reconsider and call her the best actress the world had ever seen) because she wanted to stay in Albuquerque with Troy.

But the depressing thing about dreams is that they rarely come true. Julliard hadn't select her as their scholarship winner; they had chosen her twin brother Ryan and his sorta-kinda-but-not-really girlfriend, Kelsi Nielsen. And Troy had decided to follow Gabriella to California instead of going to the U of A with Chad. In the snap of her fingers, Sharpay had found herself alone in Albuquerque and not looking forward to the suddenly bleak freshman year of college that awaited her.

Emotionally and psychologically depressed, Sharpay had spent the first couple days of summer moping around the house. She had even skipped her own graduation party and had broken up with Zeke just two days before he had left for boot camp.

Fearing she would become more depressed, her parents had sent her to an exclusive, high-priced summer acting school in London. Issued a private room and bathroom, Sharpay had spent the first couple weeks to herself, as had the others girls on her floor. By the end of the summer, however, she and the other girls had bonded so well that they had rearranged the rooms, putting two or three beds in each and using the others as closets.

Sharpay had returned home from her summer abroad with a more cheerful outlook on life. Knowing that not having a roommate wasn't for her, she had requested a room change, giving up her single room for a double.

The first time Sharpay had met her redheaded, neat freak of a roommate, Leah Beecher, she hadn't been sure they would get along, but the moment she had seen Leah's Wizard of Oz poster, her collection of Broadway musical CDs and her collection of musicals on DVD, Sharpay had known they would be fast friends.

Around dinner time, they had headed to the cafeteria, but never made it there: they had been crossing a grassy area when a Frisbee had come flying out of nowhere and had hit Leah in the back of the head. A tall, dark haired, blue eyed guy had followed and had apologized profusely after realizing what had happened.

It had been when the guy had been feeling the bump already forming on Leah's head that Sharpay had seen _him_, Chad Danforth. She had hoped that the U of A campus would be big enough for them to never cross paths, but they had only been on campus for six hours and there they were.

It had been after Chad appeared that introductions had been made and Sharpay had found out that his cute friend, Grady _Bolton_, was Troy's cousin. She hadn't been able to keep from noting the resemblance between the cousins: their sexy blue eyes, their lopsided smiles and their similar I-want-you-to-think-I-don't-care-about-my-hair-but-this-took-me-an-hour hair styles. It had only taken one glance at Leah for Sharpay to realize she had missed out on another Bolton.

Sharpay had then found herself squeezed into the backseat of Grady's car, next to Chad, headed for a pizza place since Grady had insisted that he owed them dinner. During dinner, Leah and Grady had dominated the conversation and Sharpay doubted they had even realized that she nor Chad had barely spoken a word. Then, after dinner, Grady had dropped her and Chad off at the dorms and had taken Leah out for ice cream.

Sharpay had used the hour to come up with reasons for Leah not to be involved with Grady and most of them had revolved on Chad's presence and the fact that Sharpay had no interest in playing nice with him. But when Leah had returned all smiles, Sharpay had been forced to bite her tongue.

After that night, Sharpay had found herself on "group dates" with Leah, Grady and Chad. On several occasions, she had been able to tell that Chad had been just as unhappy with the situation as she was.

It had been the frustration of being paired up with the guy who had practically become her enemy in high school, and that she hadn't been on a real date in months, that had made her accept an invitation to a frat party from a guy in one of her classes.

In the days that had lead up to the party, she had questioned her decision after she had overheard tales from people on campus. But when Chad had made a negative comment about the frat house _and_ the guy she was going with, Sharpay had decided she was going.

It had proved to be the wrong decision, but had also been the catalyst for change in her relationship with Chad. He had appeared out of nowhere at the party and had pulled her wasted date off her when she hadn't been able to; she had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. After they had left the party, she had thought an 'I told you so' was coming, but it hadn't; he hadn't even said a word as they had walked back to the dorms.

His actions had surprised her and had made her rethink all her negative thoughts about him. Her eyes had been opened to a new side of him, a more caring side that had previously been only exposed to his closest friends, and something about it had captured her interest.

It had also opened her eyes to something she hadn't seen in high school: Chad was just as good looking as Troy, just in a more manly way with his curly just-grab-me hair, his twinkling eyes and the way his goatee framed smile lit up his whole face. The realization mixed with the beer in her system had prompted her to thank him that with a kiss. He had deepened the kiss then had seemed to realize what was happening and had pulled away.

"Goodnight Sharpay." She had watched him walk away as the way he had pronounced her name floated in her head. For the first time ever, he had said it softly and had held out the end a little instead of his usual short, quick and to the point with a period right after the y.

After that night, she hadn't minded fake double dates and had even found herself hanging out with Chad one-on-one. She had found an odd sense of peace in her about befriending the "enemy" and ever the gentleman, Chad had only mentioned the drunk kiss once in teasing, but it had remained their little secret. It had blown her mind how much they had related to each other; especially concerning disappointments and college not going as planned.

By the end of the school year, the walls that had been between them had been replaced with comradery and understanding. Without really realizing it they had become each other's confidants, biggest fans and most importantly, each other's best friend.


	3. Chapter 2

On to week #2. You guys have no idea how exciting it is to have a new chapter to post every week for you guys. I get a rush when I post things for you all to read. I mean, I write for myself, because it's one of my passions, but to share that with others makes me smile.

Of course, you guys didn't come to read _this_ part of the update, so I'll end it quickly with a couple things: Go Oregon Ducks! and thanks to my lovely reviewers: xdontforget, MissCar, kyw0202 and -BabyBleuxCullenQueen- ... you guys make me smile.

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**Chapter 2**

The end of freshman year had ended on both a high note and a low note. The high had come from the announcement of Grady and Leah's engagement and the low had come from Sharpay having to move back home with her parents. Leah and Grady's engagement had also meant that she was without a roommate for sophomore year and unless she got one, she'd be forced to stay with her parents.

By the end of the first week at her parents', Sharpay had known that she had to move out and quickly. She had never realized how many rules her parents had had when she had grown up, but now that she had experienced true freedom, she had felt suffocated. The only thing that had made her situation slightly more bearable had been that her parents had planned a two week cruise which meant she would have the whole house to her self.

In the days before her parents had left, Sharpay had mentally planned what she was going to do with her parent-free days: sleep in until 2 pm everyday; let the dishes sit in the sink until she was ready to do them; wear her pajamas all day; drink some of her mom's secret wine cooler stash and do just about everything else her parents wouldn't let her do when they were home.

However, the day her parents had left, Sharpay hadn't felt up to doing anything, much less rebel against them. In fact, she had kind of wished they were home or that they had invited her to tag along. The truth was she had never been home alone in her parents' house before; she'd always had her twin brother Ryan to keep her company, but he had decided to stay in New York City for the summer so she had been all alone.

Doing what had become second nature to her during the school year, she had called Chad to see what he was up to and had woke him up in the process. They had taken turns complaining about their lives: him starting with her waking him up, her following with her parents' rules, him scoffing and telling her about his younger siblings and her finishing with the fact that she was bored since her parents had left.

"Wait, you're alone in your big swanky house?" He had asked, the sleepy sound of his voice evaporating immediately

As soon as she had said yes, he had volunteered to come stay with her and keep her company. He had claimed that he was offering for her sake, but she had known better; after all, he had just spent twenty minutes complaining about his younger siblings. After she had agreed, they had said their goodbyes so he could pack.

Two hours later, Chad had shown up at her parents' house with a few boxes and had moved into the guestroom down the hall from her bedroom.

The following two weeks had gone smoothly as they had hung out around her house: spending their afternoons in the pool and their evenings watching movies on her dad's big screen TV. They had taken turns cooking and cleaning and had split up the other chores since neither of them were fans of cleaning.

The idea that they should be roommates had been formed the afternoon before her parents had returned while Sharpay had been tanning by the pool and Chad had been swimming.

"I could get used to this," he had said as he had gotten out of the pool. "Think your parents would let me move into Ryan's room?"

"As long as you cleaned up after yourself I don't think they'd notice," she had stated.

"Never mind then," Chad had laughed as he settled into the lounge chair next to hers. "I have siblings to clean up after me at home."

The idea of living with Chad had come back to her the next afternoon after her parents had returned. The two weeks he had stayed with her at her parents' house had been like the two of them living together and she had known he wanted out of his parents' house as much as she wanted out of hers.

By the time she had gone to bed that night, she had found two promising locations: a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment a few miles from campus and a two bedroom, one bathroom townhouse three blocks from campus.

The following morning, she had waited patiently for the proper hour then texted Chad, inviting him out to breakfast. It had been over breakfast that she had told him her idea and had shown him the information about the apartment and the townhouse. He had agreed to the roommate proposal quickly and had even taken credit for it after she had told him how she'd gotten the idea.

Then had come the decision about where to live: she had voted for the townhouse while he had thought the apartment was better. To help them decided, Sharpay had called the managers of both location to schedule appointments to visit the facilities.

It had only taken walking into the townhouse for Chad to switch sides. Purposely, they had visited the cramped apartment first and the open first floor of the townhouse had been a welcome sight. The size of the two bedrooms and the fact that there had been two balconies had made up for the fact that there had only been one bathroom.

Within two weeks, they had settled into their townhouse that had been furnished with pieces her parents' no longer needed, but had still been adjusting to sharing a bathroom. Following their first incident, they had sat down and had decided the rules for the bathroom: the door had to be left open for teeth brushing, hair doing, make up doing, etc.; the door had to remain unlocked during showers incase the other person needed to use the bathroom; the door could only be locked if there were extremely personal reasons involved.

By the time mid-summer had hit they had developed a steady pattern that had only gotten interrupted when Sharpay had gone to New York City with her parents to visit her brother and when Chad had gone to visit Troy and Gabriella in California.

The school year had started with a bang when Sharpay had come home from her first day of classes ranting and raving about a stuck-up blonde bitch who thought she was better than everyone else because she had been cast as Blake Lively's body double in a movie during the summer.

Sharpay had dropped to the couch after she had spewed frustration over the girl who had taken a year off to experience Hollywood, but "decided to go to school." That had been when she had seen the smile Chad had been trying to hide.

"What?" She had snapped.

"You don't see it?"

"See what?"

"She's _your_ Sharpay," he stated.

"What? Not uh," she shook her head. "I am nothing like her."

"Not any more, but in high school you were just like her," he stated.

The thought and the realization that what he had said was true had terrified her. He had tried to comfort her by saying that she had changed a lot and that nobody would compare her and the new girl, but she had been adamant that she had to do something to stand out. When she had made a comment about dying her hair, he had offered his mom's services.

A phone call to Chad's mom, a hair dresser, had secured an appointment for Sharpay to dye her hair. Chad had driven her to the small shop his mom and aunt ran and he had watched as his mom had done what she did best. It had been when they had been waiting for her color to set that Chad had been pressured by his mom and Sharpay to get his hair cut as well. When they had left the shop her hair was a warm, chestnut brown and his hair was in a short modern-Lionel Richie style.

They had officially debuted their darker, shorter locks at the first frat party of the school year and that night had been the beginning of a new stage in their relationship. Like the night he had rescued her the previous spring, the beer in her system had led to her kissing him and the beer in his system had led him to kiss her back.

It had started out sweet and innocent, but had heated up as the semester had progressed. They hadn't needed the alcohol or the party atmosphere to kiss and flirt, but it had made it easier for them.

With each kiss, their friendship had become slightly more complicated, but they had both made an effort to keep things the same; even if it had meant leaving the house early in the morning so she wouldn't be tempted to wait for him to come out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist.

In the weeks before winter break, Sharpay had thought something would happen between them at home after several parties, but to his credit, he had kept to their pact and had excused himself to his bedroom as soon as they had walked into the house. Leaving her mad, horny and confused about what she had wanted from their relationship.

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Tune in next week to find out if Chad and Sharpay go all the way and who Sharpay finds sleeping on their couch.


	4. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story :-D I know it's moving kind of slowly, but things will start to pick up in the next couple chapters. The first two chapters were really just background information to bring you guys up to speed as to what's been going on with Chad and Sharpay since high school.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter and I can't wait to see what you guys think.

Special thanks to -BabyBleuxCullenQueen-, xdontforget, kyw0202 and MissCar for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Chapter 3**

The beginning of winter break had been busy for her and Chad. She had been in the thick of rehearsals for the winter program and he had been gearing up for the upcoming basketball season.

In the four days prior to Christmas Eve, Sharpay had found herself performing her heart out on the stage; it had been at a U of A winter program when she was four that had made her want to sing, dance and act. With that memory in mind, she had put her all into her performance even though it had just been a small part.

The busyness of the winter program rehearsal and performing schedules hadn't allowed Sharpay to enjoy the holiday like she had in the past, but she hadn't minded. The final performance ahd taken place the night before Christmas Eve and she had planned to spend the following day soaking in the sights, smells, sounds, feelings, and tastes of Christmas.

She had woken up on Christmas Eve morning and had taken a shower before deciding she needed coffee. Dressed in a robe with her wet hair tucked under a towel, she had greeted Chad, who'd come out of his room, and then had descended the stairs. She had frozen had on the bottom step when she had seen a sleeping figure on the couch. Upon closer inspection had revealed that the person on the couch had been none other than Troy Bolton.

Wanting to know why Troy was crashed on the couch, she had quietly ran up the stairs to talk to Chad. Reaching the top of the stairs, she had heard the shower running and Chad humming along to a tune in his head. Not wanting to wait for him to get out, she had opened the bathroom door then had slammed it shut after going in to get his attention.

"Sure, come right in," he muttered from behind the shower curtain.

"What the hell is Troy Bolton doing on my couch?" She demanded.

"First of all, it's _our_ couch and secondly, if he's doing something other than sleeping, I had nothing to do with it."

"But why is he _here_?"

Chad's explanation for his best friend's presence had been that they had gone to a party the night before and had decided that Troy should sleep over instead of going home tipsy. Then, instead of giving her a chance to respond, he had ordered her out of the bathroom and had promised that he and Troy would be gone before she knew it.

She had humped in response and had flushed the toilet out of spit. She had then opened the bathroom door and had run right into Troy, causing the towel her hair had been wrapped in to come undone. She had had to grab his shoulders to keep from rocking backwards and had looked right into his deadly blue eyes in the process. It had been nearly eighteen months since she had seen him, but save for the morning stubble on his face he looked exactly the same. He looked especially good from the angle she had from his arms.

Shaking her head, she had taken her hands off his shoulder then had pulled the bathroom door closed.

"Chad will be out soon," she told him before she had all but run to her bedroom.

She had taken her time getting dressed and getting her hair and makeup done. By the time she had left her room, she hoped that Troy and Chad had already left, but when she had reached the stairs she had heard them talking downstairs. She had turned to go back to her room, but had stopped when she had heard Troy grilling Chad about their run in that morning.

"She came out of the bathroom with wet hair and in a robe and said you were still in there," Troy had stated.

"We're just friends," Chad had defended him. "We only have one bathroom and she had to brush her teeth."

"Yeah, right," Troy had retorted. "Next you're going to tell me I don't have to sleep with one eye open because she won't rape me when she has the chance."

Sharpay had felt like she had been slapped in the face. Sure she had gotten a little carried away in high school, but she would never force herself on him; she had never been that desperate. Before she had been able to get down the stairs, Chad had come to her defense and told Troy that Sharpay was nothing like she had been in high school.

When things had gotten quiet, Sharpay had decided it was time to make her presence known. She had come down the stairs and had walked into the kitchen where the guys had been. "Morning," she had greeted.

"Morning," they had chorused and Sharpay had noticed that Chad's voice had been a little off.

"What are you guys doing today?" She had asked them.

"We're going to do some last minute shopping," Troy had said. He had then surprised her, and judging by the look that had appeared on Chad's face had surprised him as well, by asking her to come shopping with them. "God knows Chad needs help after last years' Wicked Cool Mom mug."

What had followed had been a list of teasing put downs between the two best friends that had seemed to revive Chad's friendly side.

"At least I get my mom things she can actually use."

"At least my mom actually gets things she wants."

"At least I don't live with my girlfriend's mom."

Finally, when she hadn't been able to stand another minute of it she had cut Troy off and had declared that she would go shopping with them as long as they didn't fight like that at the mall.

Their shopping trip had lasted two hours and after dropping Troy off, Chad and Sharpay had returned home. She had helped Chad pick out a heart shaped pendant for his mom that hah had five smaller hearts attached to it each the birthstone of one of her children. She had also convinced Troy to use the giftcard he had gotten for his mom to get her a gardening kneeler/seat, something she had known his mom, an avid gardener, would love.

That evening, she and Chad had sat down by their little Christmas tree and had exchanged presents since they were both staying the night with their parents. He had let her open her gift first and her hand had flown to her mouth in shock when she had seen the set of amethyst earrings and the amethyst setting on a wooden ring base that she had seen in the store while they had been shopping.

Speechless, she had thrown her arms around his neck and hugged him. After, she had asked him how he'd known she wanted it and he had admitted that he had seen her admiring it while they had been waiting for his mom's necklace.

When he had reached for his gift, the realization that he had spent nearly double what she had spent settled in and she had fought to back the temptation to snatch his gift back and lie about it being the wrong one. But the look on his face when he had seen the picture of the new Redhawks logoed barbecue coverd had made her breathe a sig of relief. He had been so excited over the cover that he had made her go outside with him to put it on his small barbecue and hadn't seemed to mind the fact that the cover was three sizes too big.

After a few minutes the coldness of the evening had started to get to them, so they had gone inside and had finished gathering up all of the stuff they would need at their respective parents' house. Then he had driven her to her parents' house and had come in for a few minutes to say hello to her parents and Ryan then left, leaving her to spend time with her family.

After their tradition of take-out Chinese food for dinner that night, her family had gone into the TV room and, just like old times, had watched White Christmas. She had felt a home squeezed onto the couch between her mom and brother, but had felt like something was missing, she just hadn't been sure what it was at that time.

It had felt weird sleeping in her childhood room again and she had struggled to fall asleep, but sometime between midnight she had. It had been a text message from Chad wishing her a Merry Christmas that had woken her up shortly after eight in the morning. She had replied to his message with a return of the pleasantry and had thanked the 'jerk' for waking her up.

Unable to fall back asleep, she had gotten up and had taken a shower before getting dressed. Once she had gotten downstairs, she had found her parents drinking coffee in the formal dining room and had learned Ryan had gone over to Kelsi's house. She had then fixed herself a cup of coffee then had goen into the TV room to find a parade on.

"MOM?! DAD?! SHAR?!" She had heard Ryan yell an hour later as he had come in the front door.

"We're engaged!" Ryan had announced before Sharpay and had her parents had fully made into into the hall where he and Kelsi had been standing.

Congratulations had been made and it was decided that Kelsi, whose family had already done their present opening, would stay for breakfast. She had been sure they had surprised Kelsi when instead of having somebody else cook their breakfast, they family had worked in the kitchen together making their large breakfast.

During breakfast, Sharpay had felt like the fifth wheel and had wished that Chad was there with her. The thought had surprised her at first, but it had made sense after a second, Chad had become her best friend and she had spent a lot of time with him. After breakfast, Sharpay had put dishes away in silence and as her mom and Kelsi had talked about wedding details; she hadn't been sure where her dad and brother had slipped off to, but she had had a hunch that they had been smoking celebratory cigars in her dad's office.

After presents had been opened, Ryan had taken Kelsi home and had hung out with her family while Sharpay had relaxed for awhile before she had helped her parents cook Christmas dinner. Ryan had returned a few minutes before they had sat down to eat and Chad had showed up just as they were finishing. While Chad had eaten the piece of pie her mom had offered him, Sharpay had gathered her stuff and when he had finished, she had said goodbye to her family.

On the way to his parents' house, they had dropped her stuff (and the pie her mom had given him) at their house and had changed into warmer clothes. Then they had joined his family and the Boltons' to take a tour of the nearby neighborhoods decorated that had been with lights. She had walked between Chad, who kept his arm wrapped around her shoulder the whole time, and Troy.

They had walked for nearly an hour then had headed back to Chad's parents' house where they had warmed up with hot chocolate, which had nearly come out her nose when Troy, Chad and his brothers had performed a rowdy dance to the Russian dance from the Nutcracker.

It had been after midnight when Chad had helped Sharpay up and they had said their goodbyes to everyone. He had then driven them home and they had gone to bed.

The day after Christmas, Chad and Sharpay had driven Troy, who had wanted to get out before the snow storm the weather man was predicting hit, to the airport and as they had driven home it started to snow. With the weather man reporting that it wasn't likely to stop snowing anytime soon (and at their mothers insistent), they had stopped at the grocery store and had stocked up on things they would need then went home.

When they had woken up the following morning there had been six feet of snow outside and more falling, they had opted to stay inside and watch movies; a decision that had been repeated for the days following.

By New Years Eve, they had both been ready to escape the confines of their house and had planned to go to a party nearby. They had gotten dressed up nice, him in a pair of khaki slacks and a black button down shirt and her in a black satin spaghetti strapped dress that fell to her knees. They had pulled on their winter coats and Chad had gone outside to test the walkway, but had slipped on the icy walkway in the process and had landed on the cement with a thud. With Chad complaining of a bruised ass, they had begrudgingly decided to stay home and he had gone upstairs to change into dry clothes while she had made hot chocolate.

Ten minutes later, they had found themselves sitting on the couch sipping hot chocolate, him in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt and her in her black dress. She had felt silly for not changing, but she had bought the dress for New Years Eve and she was going to wear it. Of course, while he had been upstairs, she had taken off her heels and had taken off the pantyhose she had worn more to stay warm than for fashion.

They had watched a couple movies and had cuddled under a blanket until eleven thirty when they changed the channel to watch the ball drop. Then had counted down with the people on TV and when the clock had struck twelve, she had pressed her lips against his.

The close proximity they'd had for days had fueled the fire as he had pulled her into his lap and they had continued to kiss. Her tongue had slipped into his mouth as his hands had run over the smooth satin of her dress, sending shivers up her spin. He had wrapped his arms around her body tightly then had shifted their position so she had been laying on the couch and he had been on top of her. She had pulled the hem of his shirt up and had broken the kiss long enough to free his upper body from it then had run her hands down his smooth back, feeling his muscles tighten as they embraced.

Her eyes had fluttered close as his lips had kissed down her neck to the top of her dress as his hands had slid down her body. He had taken a gentle hold on the hem of her dress then had pulled it up and over her body, leaving her in a pair of black panties. His mouth had found one of her already hard nipples and had sucked on it while one of his hands played with the other nipple, which had caused a throaty moan to escape her lips.

When he had broken the contact between their bodies, she had looked up at him in confusion.

"Grab your dress." His voice had been low and husky.

She had as she had been told and had followed him up the stairs. She had tossed her dress in front of her bedroom door then had followed him to his bedroom. She had sat down on the edge of his bed and had watched as he had stripped all his clothes, revealing his hard manhood. As he had opened up a condom, she had slid off her panties and had tossed them on the floor then had positioned herself in the middle of his bed.

He had climbed onto the bed and had positioned himself over her then had slid his manhood deep inside of her. Their lips had found each other again and her hands had weaved through his short hair as he had slid in and out of her. His pace had sped up as they both had neared their release. He had come with a groan and she had followed a few minutes later.

He had collapsed next to her on to the bed, his chest rising and falling with every breath he had taken. She had waited until he had fallen asleep before she had kissed his cheek and had grabbed her panties before going to her room. She had pulled on one of his t-shirts that she'd "borrowed" to use as a nightshirt and had climbed into bed, falling asleep with a satisfied smile on her face.

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Tune in next week to see what brings Troy home for good and if Gabriella is with him.


	5. Chapter 4

Oh my god you guys! I am sooo sorry!! I totally spaced updating today and then when I remembered I couldn't log on to !!! But here I am and I still have 40 minutes before it's Sunday... so anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Things are going to start picking up here so thanks for baring with me through the slow parts.

Special thanks to LivinAlilLoopie, -BabyBleuxCullenQueen- and kyw0202 for reviewing Chapter 3!

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**Chapter 4**

The day that Sharpay had come home and found Chad staring at his phone, with tears in his eyes, had been the day that her world has started to turn upside down.

"What's wrong?" She had asked as she had closed the front door.

"That was my mom," he had said, his voice had been so raw with emotion that Sharpay had wanted to start crying herself. "Troy's mom -" he sucked in a breath "- has breast cancer."

Unsure of what to say, she had wrapped her arms around him. She had known from past conversations that Troy's mom had been like a second mom to Chad while he had grown up and that she had battle cancer when he and Troy had been in middle school. It had been that knowledge that had kept her from saying anything. How was she supposed to make him feel better when she had no idea what he was going through?

Chad had answered her question by turning towards her and pressing his lips against hers. She had been surprised by his actions, but had decided that if he thought it would help then she would go with it. They had started on the couch, but had moved to the floor when she had almost fallen off the couch. There, on the inexpensive rug, he had taken her then had fallen asleep with a slight smile on his face. Knowing he had needed the sleep, she had gotten redressed then had put a blanket over his naked body.

She had been in the kitchen making something to eat when his phone had rung; she had turned to answer it, in hopes that he would sleep through it, but he had woken up and had answered it himself. She had turned back to her snack, but had heard him agree to pick up Troy and Gabriella from the airport the next afternoon.

The next afternoon, Chad had called her and had asked her to go with him to the airport to get Troy. She had agreed and had talked to the professor of her next class before she had gone home to go with Chad. They had parked in the short term area then had gone into the airport to wait for Troy and Gabriella.

Troy had looked understandably worse for wear when he had come through the security check. He and Chad had embraced and had worn identical faces that had looked like two little boys whose dogs just passed away. Sharpay had given them their space and had only joined their hug when Chad had motioned her over.

"So where's Gabriella?" Chad had asked as they walked to the baggage claim. "I thought she was coming with you."

"I thought so too," Troy had muttered, but hadn't said anything else as they had gotten his bags, all six of them.

After Chad had grumbled about the number of bags Troy had brought along, Troy had informed them that he was transferring to the U of A. That had stopped both Sharpay and Chad dead in their tracks, but it had only taken Chad a few minutes to recover and he had then bombarded Troy with questions about Gabriella, Cal and basketball.

"Cal understood that I needed to come home," Troy had stated, giving Sharpay the impression that Gabriella hadn't agreed. "Besides, basketball is just a game and I can play it here next year. But my family needs me, so here I am."

After leaving the airport, they had taken Troy home and his mom had invited Sharpay and Chad to stay for dinner. Sharpay had been hesitant; not wanting to invade their time together, but after Chad had informed her that Mrs. Bolton wouldn't take no for an answer, she had agreed to stay as long as Mrs. Bolton would let her help.

After instructing the guys to take Troy's stuff to his room, Mrs. Bolton had assigned Sharpay the task of putting together a salad. Sharpay had done her task while making small talk with Troy's mom had once she had finished had asked if there was anything else she could do to help.

Mrs. Bolton had shaken her head then had asked if she could ask Sharpay a question. Sharpay had nodded and the older woman had quietly asked what was going on between Sharpay and Chad. "I saw you two at Christmas," she had said. "And you both looked snug as a bug."

"We're just really good friends," Sharpay had answered, not ready to admit that she too had been wondering what she and Chad were. She knew they had become more than friends, but she hadn't been sure where their relationship had been exactly.

"You know, Jack and I were once just really good friends and now look at us." Mrs. Bolton had smiled.

"Well sometimes times just really good friends become more," Sharpay had shrugged. "And sometimes they don't."

"Well my nephew and son seem to think you two are up to something."

Their conversation had come to an end when Chad had come into the kitchen. After revealing that Troy and Coach had been nagging him about his friendship with Sharpay, he had offered to set the table for Mrs. Bolton, who had instantly taken him up on the offer.

The five of them had sat down for dinner twenty minutes later with Mrs. and Coach Bolton at either end, Sharpay next to Chad and Troy across from them.

For the first few minutes, Sharpay had felt like an outsider as the other four had recalled past shenanigans that Troy and Chad had gotten into. Eating dinner with the Bolton's had been an entirely different experience than the times she had eaten with the Danfoth's. At the Danforth's, if you didn't take some initiative and grab food, you'd go hungry and have a headache from everyone talking over each other; with the Bolton's, on the other hand, the food was passed around the table and they took turns telling their own version of the story being told.

It had been Chad that had come to the rescue and had pulled her into the conversation by talking about Ryan and Kelsi's engagement, her role in the Christmas play and how he had successfully (and somewhat forcefully) converted her into a basketball fan, which had led to a discussion about the Redhawks' up coming game and the possibility that next year, Chad and Troy would be playing on the team.

With the guys talking sports, Sharpay had helped Mrs. Bolton clear the table and clean up the dishes. When they had finished, Chad had asked Sharpay if she had been ready to go and she had been, so they had gotten their stuff and had said goodbye to the Bolton's, with Sharpay promising to come by again soon.

The ride home had been quiet and Sharpay had wondered what having Troy in town would mean for her and Chad. Would he want to move out and live with Troy or have Troy move in with them? If he moved out where would she live? If Troy moved in, where would he live?

When Chad had pulled up in front of their house, Sharpay's questions had tumbled out of her mouth. After chuckling, Chad had assured her that nothing would change and that Troy planned to live with his parents.

At the basketball game a few days later, Sharpay had found herself sandwiched between Troy and Grady in the student section. Being so close to Troy had made it impossible for her to ignore the tantalizing scent of his cologne or the feeling of his hard muscles pressed against her body every time he moved to let somebody past him. She hadn't thought about him that way for a long time, but their proximity made him impossible to resist, even after all that time.

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd actually be at a basketball game and know what was going on," Troy's voice had rumbled in her ear during a timeout. "It doesn't seem possible."

"Well I had a great coach," Sharpay had forced a smile as she had looped her arm through Grady's, both to draw him into the conversation as well as to lean closer to him. "He spent all last season explaining the game to me and Leah."

"And nearly pulled my hair out in the process," Grady had teased as the game started again. "But by the end of the season they finally figured it out."

"Well, tell Leah thanks for letting me have her ticket," Troy had shouted over the roar of the crowd following a three pointer from the Redhawks. "It was awesome of her."

Sharpay had smiled knowing Leah had been more than happy to have an excuse not to have to go to the game. After all, the only reason Leah had come to games had been because of Grady, which had originally been the reason that Sharpay had come as well.

"I still can't get over the whole you and Chad thing," Troy had confessed, after the game as he and Sharpay had waited outside the locker room for Chad.

"If by _thing_ you mean _friendship_ then I don't know what there is to not get," Sharpay had replied. "We hung out a lot last year and became friends. End of story."

Chad had arrived before Troy could reply and the three of them had made their way to the victory party a couple blocks from campus.

Chad had disappeared as soon as they had entered the party to make his rounds, leaving Sharpay alone with Troy. She had led Troy through the maze of partiers and they had gotten drinks before going outside where she had known Chad would find them later.

They hadn't said much to each other as they had sat sipping on their drinks. Their silence had been interrupted by a drunk girl who had stumbled over and had all but thrown herself on to Troy.

"East High's gold boy is home," the girl had said, pressing her practically exposed breasts against Troy. "When I was a cheerleader at West, I secretly cheered for you." She had lowered her face in an effort to kiss Troy, but had snapped her head back when a slutty sounding song had come on. "That's my jam!" She had climbed off of Troy and had half stumbled half danced away, leaving Troy and Sharpay alone again.

Despite the fact that she had been annoying, the drunk girl's antics had led to Troy revealing that he would miss the anonymity that he'd had playing basketball at Cal. He had also informed Sharpay that the local paper had already requested to write a feature article on the return of the "prodigal son." She had heard the annoyance in his voice and had asked him why had had decided to transfer.

"Because this was another sign that I made the wrong decision about where to go to school," Troy had sighed. "This one was just too big to ignore." Without her promoting him, he had revealed what he had believed to be the other signs: his paperwork for living on campus freshman year getting lost so he had had to move into the apartment above Gabriella's mom's garage; his truck breaking down then his new car being broken into; missing the second half of the basketball season because he had tripped over a prop on stage and had broken his wrist; and finally that he had Gabriella had been fighting and struggling to work things out. "Nothing worked out the way it was supposed to," he had finished.

"What does Gabriella say about you coming home?" Sharpay had no idea what had propelled her to ask him that, but she had.

"She called it a stupid mistake and said I was throwing away everything I'd worked for," Troy had stated. "She wanted me to take the term off then go back to Cal, but I knew I had to come home for good."

"She'll come around," Sharpay had stated, surprising herself that there hadn't been an ounce of hatred in her voice. "You two are invincible."

"I dunno, we haven't spoken since I left," Troy had confessed after several minutes. "This might be the end for me and Gabriella."

As his words had entered her brain, a realization hit her: all of her senior year wishes were coming true. Troy was going to the University of Albuquerque and Troy and Gabriella's relationship was practically over.

The realization had been broken up by Chad's sudden appearance. He led her and Troy back inside and they had hit the dance floor. She had faced Chad out of habit, but hadn't been help the butterflies that had hit her stomach when Troy had stepped behind her.

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Stayed tuned next week to find out how Sharpay (and Chad?) celebrates her birthday and what, if anything, happens between Troy and Sharpay.


	6. Chapter 5

Look at me! I'm updating before noon my time!! woohoo!! I was just singing along to 'You Belong With Me' and trying to figure out what to do next then I remembered I needed to update so here we go. I don't really know what to say, but to those in the States I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Special thanks to kyw0202 for reviewing the last chapter.

p.s. you might check your email thursday...

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**Chapter 5**

It had only taken a matter of days for Troy to be accepted and enrolled at the U of A and the Monday after he had returned, he had shown up in three of Sharpay's classes: History of Theater, Elements of Acting and Script Writing.

"Let me be the first to inform you that you are already way behind in all three," she had stated, holding back a smile when he had muttered his disbelief after she had then informed him of their upcoming assignments.

"So, basically, if I didn't have you to help me out, I'd be screwed?" He had given her a charming smile.

"Fine," she said, mad that she had succumbed so easily. "But what's in it for me?"

He had suggested the satisfaction of doing a good deed, but she had turned that down and had suggested that he promise to stop pestering both her and Chad about their non-existent romantic relationship. After he had promised he would stop, she had promised to help him get caught up.

In all the day dreams she'd ever had in high school about Troy, none had ever included her tutoring him; running lines, singing duets, making out, rocking his world: yes, tutoring: no.

She had gone home that afternoon planning to look up tutoring advice since she hadn't had the foggiest idea of what to do or expect, but when she had walked in the front door she had found Troy sitting on the couch. She had known for a fact that Chad had been at basketball practice, which had meant only one thing: Troy had been waiting for _her_; that realization**, **one she had wanted for so long, had sent a familiar surge of desire through her body.

"Chad let me in before he left for practice," Troy had explained as if he had felt the need to justify how he had gotten in. "He said you'd be home soon and told me to tell you he's picking us up a pizza for dinner."

"Ok," she had stammered then had taken a second to get control of her voice. "I'm going to go upstairs for a few minutes, I'll be right back."

She had run up the stairs and into her room quickly then had leaned against the door after closing it. Her thoughts from the party had echoed in her brain: all her teenage fantasies were coming true, one right after each other. It had been like a birthday miracle, she had mused since her birthday had only been a week away.

"It's just Troy," she had told herself after several minutes.. "He's Chad's best friend and that's all he is to you." But even as she had said it, she hadn't been able to help but check out her reflection in the mirror. "Oh who am I kidding?"

She had quickly crossed her room and had run a brush through her hair then had reapplied her lip gloss; after all, the guy she had pined over for four years had been sitting downstairs waiting for her and nobody else.

"To study," she had reminded herself after one last fluff of her hair. "He's here to study." Taking a deep breath, she had left her room and had gone back down stairs. "Sorry about that, my mom called."

They had worked for a few hours and had been just finishing when Chad had arrived, baring pizza and the horrible English accent he always used when they got pizza from Round Table.

He had put the pizza boxes on the coffee table then had insisted that he would get them all drinks and napkins. When he had returned, he had sat down on the couch before Sharpay and Troy.

"Dig in Fair Maiden and -" he had glanced at Troy for a second "- court jester."

"Funny," Troy had rolled his eyes. "Your hair might be shorter, but it's still clownish."

"At least my -"

She had cut Chad off, thus ending their childish fight, by turning on the TV.

The follow Friday night, Sharpay had found herself once again between Troy and Grady cheering on Chad; that time, however, Leah had been with them and they had been sitting in Chad and Troy's parents' seats since both couples had been unable to make it to the game.

Following the game, a loss, Troy had dropped Sharpay off at home and she had waited up for Chad to get home. She had known that losses were always hard on Chad, but that one had been even harder since it had been against their state rivals.

"Is there anything I can do?" She had asked when he had come into the house. "Are you hungry? Do you want to a bath? Or I could give you a massage?"

"I'm just going to go to bed," he had replied. "Goodnight, Shar."

She had said goodnight and had watched him climb the stairs. Then, with a sigh, she had turned and locked up the house for the night before going into her own room.

On the morning of her birthday, he had come into her bedroom shortly after eight holding a cup cake with a single candle in it and had sung her happy birthday. When he had finished singing, he had instructed her to blow out the candle and make a wish.

"So what did you wish for?" He had asked as he had crawled into bed next to her.

"That you'd go away and wake me up later," she had teased as she had peeled back the paper cup on the cupcake.

"Well since you said it out loud, it's not going to come true," he had grinned. "Can I have a bite?"

"You can have a small bite." She had held it out to him and had barely gotten her fingers out of the way before he had taken a big bite. "Chad! I said little!"

"That was a little bite. I can eat a whole one in a bite, besides there's more down stairs."

"So go get me another one."

"Nah, but hey, I'll take you up on that massage offer now."

"If anybody is getting massaged right now it's gonna be me," she had scoffed.

"Alright then, roll over."

"Now? But I want to sleep in."

"It's either now or after your party."

"Fine." She had rolled over, laying face down on her bed, and had closed her eyes as his strong hands had worked the kinks and tense spots out of her back. His hands had traveled from the back up her neck all the way down to the top of her pajama pants.

"Hey!" She had exclaimed when she had felt him grab her ass.

"Just making sure you're still awake," he had smiled innocently.

"Yeah right, you just wanted an excuse to grab my ass."

"You grab mine all the time, so I guess we're even now."

"When have I ever grabbed your ass?"

"On New Years Eve," he had stated. "I believe your words were 'harder, Chad, harder.'"

"I forgot about that," she had blushed.

"Really? Cause I can't get that night or what happened after I found out about Troy's mom's cancer out of my head," Chad had confessed, sitting back so she had been able to roll over and sit up to face him.

"I forgot about the ass grabbing, but definitely not about the other events," Sharpay had replied. "Why haven't we talked about this before?"

"No idea," Chad had shaken his head. "But I -" he had paused before continuing "- wouldn't be opposed to doing it again."

"Honestly, neither would I."

"What would that make us?"

"We've been doing the friends with benefits thing for awhile." She hadn't known what to say then, but she had known she hadn't been ready to declare anything official with Chad. "I think it would just be another part of that."

"Are you ok with that?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," he had smiled. "I gotta go to the training camp thing, but I'll see you in a few hours." He had leaned over and kissed her lips. "Later, _friend_."

"No telling anybody about this," she had called after him.

"It's our little secret."

She had leaned back in her bed and had stared at the ceiling for awhile before she had realized that in all likelihood she and Chad would be together. So she had climbed out of bed and, wanting to look amazing, she had spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon getting ready for the party Leah was throwing for her.

When Chad had gotten home, she had felt both nervous and excited when Chad had looked her over when he had gotten home. She had added the final touches to her party look while he had showered then they had gone to Leah and Grady's house. She had sat between Chad and Troy and more than once had felt Troy checking her out. But it had been Chad's "accidental" touches that had put her body on high alert.

By the time they had gotten home, Sharpay had been more than ready for what had laid in front of them. She had led Chad to her bedroom and had let him unzip the back of her dress, which had then fallen to the floor. They had climbed onto her bed after they had finished disrobing and had kissed as their hands had explored each others bodies. Unlike the two times before, he had relinquished the controls to her and had let her decide what, how and when they had gone farther.

More than ready and needing him inside of her, she had lowered her body onto his manhood and had ridden him until they had both come. They had laid side by side for several minutes, trying to catch their breath. Then he had kissed her lips and wished her one last happy birthday before leaving the room with a whisper of goodnight.

Being friends with benefits with Chad had paid off quickly and had helped Sharpay control her reborn feelings for Troy. It had seemed that even though he had been caught up in all their classes he had still wanted to study with her. She hadn't minded spending time with him alone, but sometimes it had been hard to keep her hormones under control when he had looked at her with his cool blue eyes or had given her his sexy half smile. She had been sure that Chad felt like a sex toy, but he hadn't complained.

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Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what happens when Chad goes away for a few days, how they all spend Valentine's day and who's coming to visit.


	7. Chapter 6

Happy Thanks Giving!!This special update is to thank all my readers for reading! I'm still updating on Saturday so it'll be a double update this week. I'm currently waiting for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to start... well they've cut the ribbon but I haven't seen any floats or anything like that. I hope everybody has a great day, I'm going to spend it with my family.

Special thanks to xdontforget and kyw0202.

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**Chapter 6**

During the last week of January, Chad and his teammates had gone to a weekend tournament in Las Vegas and Sharpay had planned on spending the weekend relaxing. But Troy had had other plans and had invited himself to spend the weekend with her. When she had tried to say no, he had charmed her and had reminded her that he lived with his parents and had needed the break from them. It had almost been like he had known she would agree to anything he asked with a little persuasion.

That theory had been proved correct within twenty minutes of him being there as he had invited Leah and Grady over for dinner. The sly devil had even convinced her to do most of the cooking for _his_ dinner party.

Within the short amount of time it had been as if she had transformed into the high school version of herself; bending over backwards to please him and all because he had finally taken notice of her and had seemed to want to be around her.

He had been a disease she couldn't say no to. She had known she wouldn't have let Chad get away with the stuff Troy had done and that in itself should have sent out red flags in her head, but she knew now that she would have ignored them even if they had.

Saturday evening, he had convinced her to go to a party with him and had managed to keep her with a full cup of beer all night. She had known then that it hadn't been wise, but she had gone with the flow.

As the beer had kept coming, he had had excuse after excuse to touch her and she had known what was going to happen when they got back to her house. But she had known for certain that nothing could happen at the party, somebody would have told Chad. So when Troy had tried to start something with her on the dance floor, she had suggested they go back to her house.

His hand had been firmly planted on her ass as they had walked back to her house and when she had been unlocking the front door, she had felt him move his hand down to the bottom of her jean skirt. Once the door had opened, they had stumbled inside then he had kicked it shut and had pressed his aroused body against hers for a hot, sexually charged kiss.

When he had reached for the bottom of her shirt, she had pushed him away and had motioned to the stairs. He had given her one of his sexy grins, which had been even sexier than normal because his lips had been in a post-kiss state, and had gone up the stairs.

She had taken a second to lock the front door then had gone up to her bedroom, where she had found him in nothing but his boxers. He had strutted over to her and had undressed her; starting with her shirt and skirt and continuing until she wore nothing but the gold necklace with the S charm that her grandmother had given her for her sixteenth birthday.

Her eyes had closed and her breathing had become labored as he caressed her body, first with his hands then his mouth. Growing closer to her womanhood, he had stopped suddenly.

"You and Chad, you're just friends, right?"

She had nodded and had wanted to ask him about his status with Gabriella, but he had chosen that moment to go down on her, ridding her of thought; something she had later realized was exactly what he had wanted to do.

With his fingers and mouth, he had brought her to an orgasm then had taken her on her bed, pumping in and out of her until she had come a second time with him following.

She had woken up alone the next morning naked, hung over and feeling guilty. The high school mind frame she had been in for the past couple days had wanted to rejoice that she had finally slept with Troy, but the more mature side of her had begun to question the cost of her actions.

With Chad due back that evening, she had forced herself out of bed and had showered before cleaning the townhouse from top to bottom. It hadn't been until an hour before Chad was due home that she had heard from Troy via a text message thanking her for a great night.

When Chad had gotten home, she had told him about having Troy, Grady and Leah over for dinner and about going to the party with Troy, but had left out the fact that she had slept with him. A part of her wanted to be honest and tell him, but she had known it would change things between them.

"I wish you had come," Chad had sighed as he had wrapped her in a hug. "I roomed with Denis and he lacks bedside manner for both wins and losses."

Sharpay had laughed. "Guess I have some making up to do," she had smiled and when she had looked up at him from his arms, she had realized that she had wished she had been with him too and not stuck at home.

"Damn straight," Chad had stated. "But I've gotten over the loss, so we can go straight to the victory celebration."

She had smiled and had sent him upstairs with a promise to join him momentarily. Left downstairs, Sharpay had taken a deep breath. She hadn't known how long she would be able to pull it all off; it being both Chad and Troy. She'd only been with Troy once, but it had already begun to complicate things.

"Come on, Shar," she had heard Chad call.

After locking up the house, she had gone up to his room and had, thankfully, gotten lost in the moment from both his kisses and his caresses. It hadn't been until she had gone to her room for the night that it had all flooded back into her head.

The days leading up to Valentine's Day had passed quickly and plans had been made for her, Troy, Chad, Leah and Grady to have dinner together the night before the romantic holiday. Even though Sharpay hadn't spent a lot of one-on-one time with Troy in the days prior to Valentine's day, he had asked her to be his Valentine; as had Chad, but she had known that it would be Chad that she spent the night with.

On the night before Valentine's Day, Chad had come into the bathroom as she had been brushing her teeth and had let out a low whistle, letting her know that he had liked the red wrap dress she had been wearing.

"You look great too," she had smiled after finishing. "You should wear a suit more often."

He had pulled a disgusted face and had picked up his tooth brush as the doorbell had rung.

Leaving the bathroom to answer the front door, she had grabbed her clutch from the banister and had walked down the stairs in her new shoes, holding onto the railing to keep from falling. She had opened the front door expecting to see her friends, but instead she had seen a familiar dark haired beauty.

"Gabriella?"

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Stay tuned for Saturday to find out what happens with Gabriella in town. Will Chad and Gabriella find out what happened between Troy and Sharpay?


	8. Chapter 7

Happy Holidays everyone! Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas/Holiday season has finally arrived. I've got my Christmas music on (listen to it year round, but whatever haha) and I'm working on homework while my mom and siblings search for a Christmas tree. I absolutely love this time of year.

I don't know if you guys have done the math or anything, but after this chapter there are 4 chapters left which means the Epilogue will be posted on Christmas and extras posted every day after that until I run out of them haha.

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and special thanks to kyw0202 and xdontforget for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Chapter 7**

Sharpay had watched in disbelief as Chad had come down the stairs and had greeted Gabriella like they were good friends. Well, actually, she had known they were good friends, she just hadn't expected to feel jealous watching them hug.

"Let me show you were you can put your stuff," Chad had said to Gabriella. "Troy, Leah and Grady should be here soon."

Sharpay had watched him lead Gabriella upstairs all the while wondering why neither Troy or Chad had told her that Gabriella was coming. When Chad had come back downstairs without Gabriella, she had asked him.

"It's a surprise for Troy," he had shrugged.

"So why is she staying here and not with the Bolton's?"

"Because Troy's mom is in no condition to house overnight guests," Chad had stated. "And before you ask, she's staying in my room and I plan on sleeping on the couch."

She had felt like making him sleep on the couch, but had known she'd feel sorry about it when she was trying to fall asleep. So she had suggested that they put Gabriella in her bedroom and share his room since his bed was bigger than hers.

"Sharpay, your room is beautiful," Gabriella had said, coming down the stairs before Chad had had a chance to accept Sharpay's offer.

"I thought you said she was in your room," Sharpay had hissed at Chad.

"I'm your best friend and I knew you wouldn't let me sleep on the couch," Chad had grinned.

"Cocky bastard," Sharpay had muttered. "I should make you sleep on the couch."

"But you won't."

Sharpay had glared at him and had opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when the door bell had rung.

"Saved by the bell," Chad had grinned before answering the door and letting Grady and Leah into the house. Sharpay had expected a wave of jealousy to hit again as she watched Gabriella greet Grady and Leah, Sharpay's best friends, with friendly hugs, but had been surprised when she hadn't felt anything. At the time it had confused her, but later she had figured it out.

After fifteen minutes of waiting for Troy to arrive, Sharpay had wondered aloud the possibility that Troy had pulled a prom and had driven to Stanford to see Gabriella, but Chad had shot down the thought and had said he'd give his friend a call.

With Chad on the phone and Leah and Grady talking quietly, Sharpay and Gabriella had stood awkwardly in silence.

"You guys have a nice place," Gabriella had said, finally breaking the silence.

"Uh, thanks, we like it," Sharpay had replied. She hadn't been sure how to act around Gabriella; especially since just a couple weeks before she had slept with Troy. The thought of Troy had triggered a momentary panic in Sharpay's head about whether or not Troy had told Gabriella about them, but she had reasons that if he had there would be no way Gabriella would be here to surprise him. Unless she had wanted to get her revenge in person.

"He's turning onto our street," Chad had interrupted her thoughts. "You wanna do the honors, Gabs?"

"Sure," she replied.

When the door bell had rung, Gabriella had smoothed her hair then had opened the front door.

From her vantage point, Sharpay had seen Troy's jaw drop as he had realized who had answered the door. Her heart had swooned, not that she would have admitted it then, when Troy had gathered Gabriella in his arms. She had heard Leah sniffling and had smiled up at Chad when he had wrapped his arm around her waist.

Then, as if they had remembered they had an audience, the reunited lovers had let each other go and Troy had greeted the rest of them.

It had been when Chad reminded them all of their reservations that Troy had decided that he and Gabriella had to talk and therefore, would not be joining them for dinner. Sharpay had waited for Chad or Grady to tell him that he and Gabriella could go out after dinner, but neither of them had said anything and Troy and Gabriella had left.

Once they had left, Sharpay's mind had started to churn again. Would he tell Gabriella what had happened between them? Would they break up or would remain invincible?

It hadn't been until she had felt Chad squeeze her hand that she had returned to the present. Sticking with their reservations, she and Chad had gone out to dinner with Leah and Grady. Having returned to the familiarity that was the four of them spending time together had kept Sharpay from getting lost in her thoughts and she hadn't even thought about Troy or Gabriella.

When they had gotten home, Chad and Sharpay had each changed into sweats then had gone downstairs to watch a movie. While she had put the movie in, he had sat down on the couch with his feet resting on the coffee table then she had joined him on the couch, laying down with her head on a pillow in his lap. She had fallen asleep sometime during the movie and had woken up slightly when she had felt herself being picked up. Knowing it had been Chad picking her up, she had clung to him as he had carried her upstairs and just as she had started to fall back asleep she had heard Gabriella say she and Troy had worked things out.

The next morning, Sharpay had woken up alone in Chad's bed and had taken a moment to remember why she had been there. Wanting to shower but unsure if Gabriella was up, Sharpay had gone downstairs for coffee and had found Chad and Gabriella sitting at the table.

While Sharpay had fixed herself a cup of coffee, Gabriella had happily informed her that she and Troy had talked and were back to normal. Still half asleep, Sharpay hadn't been able to figure out if Gabriella had told her because she thought Sharpay would want to know or if she had meant to be a reminder. Either way, Sharpay had forced a smile and had silently thanked Chad when he had changed the subject. She had finished her coffee in peace as Chad had distracted Gabriella then she had gone upstairs to shower.

When she had returned nearly an hour later, she had found Troy and Chad watching a basketball game on TV and Gabriella sitting at the dining table reading what had looked like a textbook.

Due to in part to habit, Sharpay had gone to the kitchen and had grabbed three sodas and a bag of chips before joining Troy and Chad in front of the TV. The three of them had sat on the couch, eyes glued to the TV for the rest of the first half and most of the second. Then with five minutes left in the game, Gabriella had joined them on the couch, pushing them closer together.

"The four of us should do something tonight," Gabriella had suggested after the game had ended. "Maybe we could go out to dinner."

"It's Valentine's Day," Sharpay had stated. "Any place worth eating is booked solid."

"Oh, well maybe I can make dinner for us," Gabriella had suggested. "It's the least I can do for letting me stay with you guys." She had then looked at Troy. "That would be fun, don't you think Troy?"

Troy had nodded then had suggested to Chad that they should go shot some hoops. Sharpay had shot daggers at Chad, but if he had seen them, he had ignored them because he had accepted Troy's invitation and they had left quickly, leaving Gabriella and Sharpay alone.

In true Gabriella form, Gabriella had suggested that they figure a menu out for dinner then go grocery shopping. Going with the flow, Sharpay had taken a backseat as Gabriella had looked through the cabinets and fridge, taking an inventory of what she and Chad had.

"Oh, you have tofu," Gabriella has aid, pulling the solid colored tofu container out of the fridge. "Do you and Chad like tofu?"

"Chad hates it," Sharpay had said then feeling the need to let somebody in on her little secret, she had opened the container and had revealed her stash of cookies and candies. "Want one?"

"That's brilliant," Gabriella had laughed as she had taken a cookie.

With a grocery list in hand, they had gone to the grocery store to get what they needed. When they had gotten back to the townhouse, Troy and Chad had just returned and Sharpay and Gabriella had suckered them into helping bring in the groceries before sending the stinky boys to shower.

"You know when I found out you and Chad were living together, I thought Troy was pulling my leg," Gabriella had stated as they had unloaded the groceries, putting away what they hadn't needed and leaving out what they had. "I didn't think it was possible for you and Chad to be friends."

"That seems like the consensus," Sharpay had stated. "Ryan and Kelsi hadn't believed it either."

"Can you blame us? You two hated each other in high school," Gabriella's face had softened before she had continued, "but now that I see everything with my own eyes and watch you guys intereact, I can't help but think how cute you guys are together."

"Together?" Sharpay had echoed, not exactly sure what Gabriella had meant by that.

"Yeah, together. It's funny how life works, sworn enemies two years removed from high school dating."

"Dating? We're not-"

"Oh, right. Troy told me you guys are keeping it quiet," Gabriella had quickly recovered. "I think it's sweet that you don't want to steal Leah and Grady's thunder."

Sharpay had shaken her head and had wondered how many other lies Troy had told Gabriella. As she pretended to listen to Gabriella talk about herself and Troy, Sharpay had let her mind wander, especially as to why Troy had told Gabriella that she was dating Chad. The only logical reason she had come up with had been that he hadn't wanted Gabriella to be suspicious of anything between he and Sharpay, but that had seemed a lot to get into for what had been a one time thing; unless he wanted to do it again.

The return of Chad and Troy had forced Sharpay out of her thoughts and back into helping Gabriella cook dinner. After suckering the guys into helping, it hadn't taken long for dinner to finish cooking and shortly after they had sat down for dinner.

During dinner, Gabriella had surprised Sharpay by asking about school and had sounded like she had been genuinely interested. So Sharpay had told her then had returned the gesture and had surprised herself upon realizing she was actually interested in what Gabriella was saying.

After dinner, Chad had excused Troy and Gabriella from clean up duty and had sent them away to spend time together since Gabriella had to leave the next day. Then he had helped Sharpay clean up.

"So now what should we do?" Chad had asked when they had finished. "I mean, what exactly do couples do when they're alone on Valentine's Day?"

She had known exactly what he had meant, but had reminded him that they weren't a couple. To which he had responded to by pointing out that they were a _couple_ of friends who enjoyed spending time together, especially when naked.

Wanting to play hard to get, she had waited until he had taken it upon himself to make her want him. He had started by massaging her back then had pushed her dark locks aside to kiss her neck. His soft kisses paired with his hands running up and down her sides had done exactly as she knew he had intended when she had turned to face him. She had slipped her arms around his neck and had captured his lips with hers.

"Not here," he had groaned against her lips after several minutes when he had felt her hands undoing his belt. "Upstairs."

She had smiled at him hungrily then had squealed in delight when he had thrown her over his shoulder and had taken her upstairs. They had disrobed quickly and had gotten onto his bed. He had gone down on her first, using both his fingers and mouth to bring her to her climax, then had licked her juices from his fingers before she had returned the favor and had gone down on him. He had pulled out before he had come and had buried his manhood deep into her.

After finishing, he had rolled over and had fallen asleep while she had gotten up and had pulled on his robe. She had gone downstairs and had gotten the tofu container out of the fridge then had sat down in front of the TV.

When Gabriella had returned a few hours later, she had sat down next to Sharpay to watch the end of a Lifetime move with her.

"You and Chad have fun while we were gone?" Gabriella had asked during a commercial.

"Yeah, we hung out." She hadn't been ready to reveal the truth about her and Chad's secret sexlife.

"Your hair says you did more than hang out."

Sharpay had felt her face heat up then had noticed Gabriella's hair had a post sex look to it as well and had mentioned it.

"Guilty."

"I'm happy for you and Chad," Gabriella had said as they had gone up stairs after the movie. "You guys are perfect for each other." She opened Sharpay's bedroom door. "Goodnight."

"Night," Sharpay had replied. She had watched Gabriella go into her room then had stood in the dark hallway for a few minutes thinking. Why did everyone think she and Chad were dating? They were just friends. Weren't they?

Shaking her head, Sharpay had continued to Chad's room and had climbed into bed next to him after taking off his robe. Instead of closing her eyes, she had watched Chad sleep; his bare chest rising and falling with each breath he took; the moon light illuminating his handsome face and the peaceful look painted on it.

They had had sex a handful of times, but they had never shared a bed after; laying next to him, she had felt an odd sense of peace wash over her. Were they missing the chemistry that everybody else saw and commented on?

"Stop staring at me." His voice disrupting the silent room had startled her.

"I- I wasn't." Her heart had been racing, either from the surprise of him being awake or just being close to him. "I thought you were asleep."

Instead of replying, Chad had pulled her body close to his and had draped his arm around her naked torso. She had closed her eyes and had rested her head on his arm, falling asleep quickly.

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Stay tuned for next week to find out if Chad and Sharpay become a couple or if things stay complicated... or get worse...


	9. Chapter 8

I'm posting early today mostly because I gotta do some stuff for my sister this evening aka drive her and five her friends to a few different places, but I've been waiting months for you guys to read this story and things are going to reach a boiling point with this chapter :-D I just hope you guys don't hate me too much for the ending of the chapter... but I think that can be safely said for the next few chapters as well. Oh well, it'll all work out in the end.... or will it? ;)

Before I send you guys to read I just want to do a little self promotion and ask you to check out the 25 Days of Christmas drabble series I'm doing this year. I'm writing both HSM and Sonny With A Chance drabbles and because of that I've listed it as a crossover though it's not really a crossover. You can find the link to the story on my profile or check it out on my livejournal (link is on my profile). I'm posting a new drabble every day until Christmas.

Special thanks to xdontforget, xsolitaryx-xsmilex and kyw0202 for reviewing the last chapter and now you may all go read hahaha Enjoy!

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**Chapter 8**

In the remaining days of February, Sharpay had found herself spending more time with Chad and had spent little time alone with Troy. The reason had been that Troy had made himself scarce when Chad hadn't been around following Gabriella's departure, but Sharpay hadn't minded his absence; it had let her explore her relationship with Chad without fully declaring it a relationship.

March had brought complications to Sharpay's life when Troy had invited her over to his parents' house one evenin and had propositioned her to sleep with him. She had started to refuse him, but as soon as his lips had met hers, she had succumbed to him; thus starting an affair that had last for three weeks. They had met in secret either at her parents' house, his parents' house or at her place if she had known for sure Chad wouldn't come home.

All the while, she and Chad had continued to be intimate, but always in his bedroom; she had even started sleeping in Chad's room every now and then. It had been on one of those nights that Chad had first commented on her tired appearance. She had blamed her busy schedule with the spring play and he had accepted the excuse. But after he had fallen asleep, she had found herself staring at the ceiling once again wondering how long she was going to be able to pull it all off.

When Spring Break had rolled around, Troy, Chad and Grady had driven to California to get the rest of Troy's belongings and Sharpay had split her time at play rehearsals and at Leah's helping with wedding stuff.

The week after Spring Break, Sharpay had gone to Troy's parents' house to study for an exam. They had spread out on the floor of his bedroom and had only been studying for twenty minutes or so when he had leaned over and kissed her.

"I've wanted to do that since I got back," he had said, pushing her notebook out of the way.

She had stared at him wide eyed, surprised by his admission. After all, it had taken him two weeks after Gabriella had left for him to approach her about sex again.

He had smiled then had lowered his lips to hers, pulling her body close. They had taken things slowly; making out on his floor and rubbing each other through their clothes until had pulled her shirt over her head and had attacked the exposed skin.

Sharpay had been in the middle of a moan when an odd, yet familiar, sound had reached her ears; it had taken her a couple seconds to realize what it was and she had pushed him away. He had opened his mouth to say something, but his facial expression had changed from annoyed to shit when he too had heard the garage door.

Quickly, they had scrambled off the floor and she had pulled her shirt on and had grabbed purse before running to the bathroom. She had combed her hair and had reapplied her lip gloss before leaving the bathroom.

Troy hadn't in his room when she had come out, so she had grabbed her stuff and had left his room. She had found him in the kitchen with his parents and had said goodbye to them with the excuse that she had to go to rehearsals.

She had gone straight home and had gone upstairs to shower before Chad got home. After almost getting caught, she had felt dirty. Sure Troy had pressured her into doing things, but she had known he hadn't been the only one to blame; she could have said no.

After her shower, she had gone into her room and had pulled on one of Chad's old t-shirts and a pair of black shorts. Then she had grabbed a book out of her book bag and had laid down on her bed to read.

Chad had woken her up a couple hours later and had convinced her to go downstairs and make dinner for them. Still feeling guilty and that she owed it to him, she had agreed and told him she'd be down in a minute.

After Chad had left the room, she had run a brush through her hair then had gone downstairs, walking passed Chad, who had been folding laundry, on her way to the kitchen. She had dug through the freezer until she had found two TV dinners then had thrown one into the microwave before she had started doing dishes.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Chad's mischievous sounding voiced had made her turn and look at him only to see him holding up her matching black lace bra and panties. "I don't remember seeing these before and believe me, something this see through I would remember."

She had quickly tried her hands off then had raced over to where he was. "Give them to me," she demanded.

"Shh, I'm imagining them on you. They're very sexy." His sexy grin had made its way onto his face. "Yes. Very sexy."

"Chad, knock it off," she had laughed as he had rubbed the panties on his cheeks. "You're such a pervert."

"Pervert, huh?" His eyes had sparkled as if she had just challenged him to do something. "If you want 'em, you have to get them." He then had held out the waist band of his jeans and had pushed the bra and panties down the front.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Sharpay had exclaimed.

"Believe it baby." He had crossed his arms and had continued smirking.

"I'm not afraid to get them." She had mimicked his stance.

"I'm not so sure you aren't."

"My hand has been down your pants before."

"I know, but I also know you know what happens when it goes down my pants." His eyes had seemed to sparkle more than they had just minutes ago.

"And you think that will stop me?"

"You're still talking," he had pointed out. "All talk and no action."

Sharpay had smiled knowing what she had to do. She had put her hand on his chest then had slid it down his body until it had rested on the fly of his jeans. Her eyes had remained locked with his as she had slid down his zipper. She had heard his breath hitch as her hand had moved over the cotton fabric of his boxers, her fingers touching his cloth covered manhood as she had searched for the lace of her bra and panties. Finding them, she had pulled them out of his pants and tossed them onto the floor as she pushed him backwards onto the couch.

Their mouths had met quickly after she had sat down in his lap. She had started to rock her lower body over his growing manhood as things had heated up and he had broken their kiss long enough to pull her shirt over her head then had found her lips again.

After his lips had left hers and had started to kiss down her neck, she head tipped her head back, waiting in anticipation for him to touch her breasts.

"What the hell?" He had demanded, causing her to open her eyes and look at him.

Confused, she had followed his gaze and had seen the nickle sized hickie on the inside of her breast.

"Where did those come from?" He had demanded, looking up at her. "Cause I sure as hell know I didn't give you that." Instead of giving her a chance to reply, he had pushed her off his lap and had stood up. "Damnit, Sharpay, who the hell gave that to you?"

"Chad, I -" She had pulled her shirt on in hopes that not seeing it would help him calm down.

"Just tell me who it is," he had said quieter that time, obviously trying to regain control of his temper. "Is it a guy from your play? What am I saying? It has to be, because you don't spend time with anybody but me and Troy." His face had darkened and she had known he had figured it out.

"Chad, please don't freak out," she had begged on the verge of tears. "Let me explain."

"Don't freak out?!" He had shouted at her, with more hatred in his voice than she had ever heard before. "You fucked my practically engaged best friend and you don't want me to freak out!"

"Chad, please, let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain," Chad snapped. "I should have known this would happen." He had kicked one of the laundry baskets causing it to knock over. "You've been chasing Troy since high school and you finally had a chance and you took it."

"It's not like that," she insisted.

"Hell yes it is and you know it," Chad growled. "I thought you were different, but the jokes on me I guess."

His words had felt like a slap to the face and she hadn't thought she could speak, but some how she had found the courage to and insisted that she was different.

"No you're not," he had said, his words short and to the point.. "You're a better actress that I ever took you for because you had me completely fooled."

"Please don't leave," she had begged as he opened the front door. "We can talk this out."

"You slept with my best friend," he had growled. "There isn't anything left to talk about as far as I'm concerned because I can't be in love with somebody that does that."

"Please Chad," she had sobbed as he had stepped outside.

"Goodbye Sharpay, I love you," his voiced had been softer than before as he had closed the front door.

He had said it so quietly that she had almost missed it and it had taken her a second for the words to register completely in her brain. But when they had, a fresh stream of tears had filled her eyes and blurred her vision so by the time she had managed to get the front door open, his car had been gone.

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Stay tuned for next week to find out what happens now that Chad knows about Sharpay and Troy.


	10. Chapter 9

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm back with another chapter for you guys. I'm drawing a blank about what to say so I'll just let you guys read the chapter.

Quick thanks to xdontforget for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Chapter 9**

The following day had been hard for Sharpay; she had hoped that Chad would come home so they could talk, but when she had gone into the house after class, she had found his stuff missing from the living room. She had run upstairs and had found his bedroom door open. She had held her breath, hoping he had just put his stuff away, but she had found the room empty except for the furniture that had belonged to her parents. She had thrown herself on his bed as a fresh wave of tears had hit her. She had laid there for hours, her tears seeping into the bare mattress below her.

As the afternoon turned to evening, she had started to get cold and had gone to her room for a blanket. While search in her closet for a blanket, she had found a red sweatshirt that she had known had been the Wildcats sweatshirt she had borrowed from Chad while he had been in California. Pulling it to her face, she had breathed in the mixed scent of his soap and cologne. She had pulled it over her head then had grabbed the blanket before going back to his room.

Staring up at the ceiling, she had wanted it all to be a bad dream. She had wanted to go back to last year, before Troy had come and complicated things. She had wanted to wake up with Chad's arms wrapped around her and for him to tell her that he loved her and then for her to tell him that she loved him too.

"Oh my god," she had said as she realized what she had just wished. Her mind had gone back to the jealousy she had experienced when Gabriella and Chad had hugged and then the guilt she had experienced after every time she had been with Troy. Then she had recalled a thousand or more little memories she had of her and Chad, leaving her to wonder: how long had she been lying to herself about _not_ being in love with Chad?

When the sun had risen the next morning and Sharpay had found herself alone in the lifeless bedroom and had been forced to admit that she hadn't been having a bad dream. She had forced herself up and, even though her eyes had been red and puffy, she had gotten ready for school. She had tried desperately to not think about Chad, but every little thing had: the lace bra from that night, the sixth man shirt she had bought a one of his games; the fact that his tooth was missing from the bathroom; the can of "tofu" in the fridge. It had all made her want to start crying, but she had forced herself to keep it together.

She had been late to class that morning, but hadn't minded since it had meant she hadn't had to sit or talk to Troy. Sitting at the back of the classroom had also given her the advantage of having been able to leave before Troy.

After that class, she had successfully avoided Troy for a couple days, but then had run into him outside one of her classes they hadn't had together.

"You've been avoiding me," he had accused, cornering her against the side of the building.

"Can't talk, gotta -" she had stopped when he had grabbed her arm tightly. "Let go of me, Troy."

"Not until you tell me what's going on," he had said gruffly, squeezing her arm tighter. "You're avoiding me. Chad's phone is either broken or he's avoiding me to, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she had struggled to yank her arm from his grasp.

"Don't lie to me," Troy had hissed.

She had verbally dismissed that she was lying to him and had used the arrival of a professor to make her escape. She had all but run to the theater building and had hid out there until rehearsal had started. She had used the two hour gap to try and relax since the director had been on her case about her weak rehearsals of late, but her mind had kept wandering to Chad and how he was doing.

When rehearsal had started, she hadn't felt ready, but she had faked it. She hadn't been sure if the others could tell she had been faking or not. Either way, she had expected the director to call her over afterwards, but she hadn't.

Not looking forward to being alone, Sharpay had called and left a message on Leah's phone, inviting her over to watch movies. After hanging up she had accepted a ride from a cast mate, thankful to not have to worry about Troy ambushing her as she walked home.

After thanking her friend for the ride, Sharpay had gotten out of the car and had walked up the driveway and had gone into the house. Wanting to be more comfortable, she had gone upstairs and had changed into the other clothes of Chad's that she had borrowed while they had lived together.

Hearing the doorbell ring, she had gone downstairs dressed in Chad's Wildcat sweatshirt, Redhawk sweatpants and a pair of tube socks with her hair pulled back in a messy bun, not caring how she looked since she had only been expecting Leah.

But instead of finding Leah, she had found Troy and she had tried to close the door but he had stopped her.

"You look like crap," he had stated. "Who died?"

"You I wish," she had muttered under her breath. "Go away, Troy, I have nothing to say to you."

"Well, I'm not here to see you, I'm here to see Chad," Troy had sassed as he had pushed passed her and into the townhouse. "Where is he?"

"Chad isn't here," Sharpay had said, fighting to keep her emotions in check. She had wanted him to leave, it had been his fault everything had happened.

"Alright, I can wait," Troy had shrugged as he had settled onto the couch,. "Did you guys do something different in here?"

"Yeah, Chad took his stuff and moved out," Sharpay had snapped, not moving away from the open door. "So you can leave."

"Wait, what?" Troy had asked. "Why the hell did he move out?"

"Because he found out about us."

"You told him!?" Troy had exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and stalking over to her. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"I didn't tell him anything," she had said. After the way he had grabbed her arm on campus, she had been afraid of what he might do when they were alone, but she had still felt the need to defend herself.. "He found the hickie _you_ left and figured it out."

"Perfect. Just perfect," Troy had thrown his hands in the air. "Do you realize what you've ruined?"

"Excuse me?!" She couldn't believe he had tried to push it off as being all her fault. Besides, hadn't he had a clue about what _he_ had ruined?

"Chad and I have been best friends since pre-school and thanks to you, that's most likely over."

"You hit on me!" She had exclaimed. "You kissed me! You pressured me into having sex with you! _And_ you're the one that left the hickie!"

"That's another thing you've ruined," Troy had stated. "Thanks. Thanks a lot. Now what the hell am I supposed to tell Gabriella?"

In the seconds after he had mentioned Gabriella's name, things had become clear to Sharpay. "You used me," her voiced had been a whisper but then had gotten louder as she had gotten madder. "You used me for your pleasure because Gabriella isn't around!"

"I didn't hear you complaining," he had stated, which had earned him a slap across the face that had only made him madder and he had grabbed her arm in the same spot he had earlier in the day. "You know what, Chad and I will be friends again, I guarantee it, but you, he'll never talk to you again."

"I think it's time for you to leave," Sharpay had heard Leah's usually timid voice ring out loud and clear from behind her.

"Gladly," Troy had said, giving Sharpay one final glare before he had pushed past Leah on his way out the door.

"Are you ok?" Leah had asked, wrapping her arms around Sharpay. "I know how much you liked Troy."

"I don't give a shit about him," Sharpay had said as tears rolled down her face. "Because even though I want to be mad at him, I can't because it's my fault that I let him use me and it's my fault that I didn't realize I'm in love with Chad until it was too late."

"That's great that you figured it out," Leah had smiled. "I'm happy for you."

"No," Sharpay had pulled out of Leah's embrace. "It's not great because I've already lost him. Troy's right, Chad will never speak to me again."

"Don't say that," Leah had insisted. "Chad just needs time to think things through and he'll realize soon that he needs you as much as you need him."

"Thank you for coming over, but I just want to be alone right now," Sharpay had told her.

"I can't do that, Sharpay, I can't leave you alone," Leah had replied. "I wouldn't be a good best friend if I did, but I'll hang out down here and watch TV and be here when you're ready to talk."

Sharpay had nodded and had gone upstairs to Chad's room. She had climbed onto his bed and had pulled the hood of his sweat shirt over her head. She had breathed in the scent of fabric and had cried when she had realized his scent had disappeared.

The remainder of the second semester had gone slowly for Sharpay even though Leah had attempted to keep her busy. When she hadn't been at rehearsals for the spring musical, she had been hanging out at Leah and Grady's apartment helping with wedding stuff.

After her falling out with both Chad and Troy, Sharpay hadn't been sure how Grady would act around her, but she hadn't expected him to give her a big hug the first time he had seen her after it all. As had Troy and Chad's moms when she'd seen them at one of Leah's wedding showers; the hug from Chad's mom had been a little longer, as if to say everything would work out.

Sharpay had admired the faith that Chad's mom and Leah had had about her and Chad working things out, but she had known it was worthless. She had tried numerous times to talk to Chad and he had ignored her. Their relationship was over before it had truly begun and after Leah and Grady's wedding, she'd probably never see Chad or Troy again, except for high school reunions, if she even went.

A couple weeks after her falling out with Chad, Sharpay had given Leah permission to replace her in the wedding party with the excuse that Chad and Troy were going to be part of Leah's family and it would make the wedding that less awkward, but Leah had declared it nonsense and said that if Sharpay wasn't her maid-of-honor, she'd have to ask her hussy-of-a-cousin Natalie to be a bridesmaid. The only thing that had made the situation a little less awkward was that it was Grady's older brother Brycen who would be the bestman, with Troy being the other groomsman and Chad an usher.

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Find out next week to find out if Grady and Leah's wedding will help or hurt Chad and Sharpay.


	11. Chapter 10

Merry Last Saturday Before Christmas!!! I don't know about the rest of you but I'm getting pretty dang excited! I love presents, but I also love spending time with my mom's family and we get to do that on Christmas Eve. It's going to be so much fun and I'll hopefully get to hold my two month old cousin this time! But even if I don't get to, he's sooo adorable I can hardly stand it!! haha

Anyway, my plan for posting the Epilogue is to post it Christmas morning. I don't know if your parents are like mine, but even though my sibs and I get up around 5/6am our parents refuse to budge until 7am so there's some time to kill between checking out the stockings and getting ready for the day. So expect the chapter around 6:30ish PST (that's 9:30am EST) on Christmas day.

But I also have a surprise coming for you guys before the end of the year concerning this story... so stay tuned for that.

Lastly, I just want to give a shout out to BluezAvarado, kyw0202 and xdontforget for reviewing the last chapter!!

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**Chapter 10**

The night before the Leah and Grady's wedding, Sharpay had slipped into the beautiful silk dress that Leah had forced her to buy for the dinner and had pulled her hair back into a nice pony tail. Then she had headed to the winery where the rehearsal dinner and the wedding were taking place, hoping that she would be able to sweet talk someone into buying her a drink.

As part of the wedding party, Sharpay had had to get there earlier to help Leah get ready for the rehearsal. Then they had run through the ceremony a couple times, before the dinner guests had started arriving.

What Sharpay had assumed would be a quiet affair, had quickly became a large one as more and more people had shown up. The second she had spotted Troy and Chad's respective parents, she had been ready to go, but she had known that Leah would get upset with her if she left.

It had only taken one pity hug from Troy's mom for Sharpay to regret her decision to stay and since she had known she couldn't leave with out Leah getting mad, she had escaped to the ladies room, only to find Gabriella sitting on a sofa with a bottle of wine at her feet and a paper cup in her hand.

As if recognizing that Sharpay had needed a drink, Gabriella had held up the wine bottle, silently offering it to Sharpay. Thankful, Sharpay had grabbed a paper cup from the stack on the counter then had poured herself a cup.

While pouring more wine into her cup, Gabriella had muttered about how crazy it had gotten downstairs then had disputed Sharpay's theory that the winery had been doublebooked by saying that it had all been Troy and Grady's family.

"I shouldn't have come," Gabriella had muttered several minutes later. "I have a twenty page paper due on Monday."

"You've probably already turned it in," Sharpay had muttered under her breath and had instantly regretted it. "Sorry."

"Don't be, it's true," Gabriella had sighed.

They had made small talk for awhile before Gabriella had mentioned the "break up" and had inquired how Sharpay had been doing. Even though she and Chad had never officially been together, Sharpay had stopped correcting people after the hundredth time.

"I think I'll be better after this is all over," Sharpay had answered. "And I'm going back to England this summer."

They had both looked up when the bathroom door had opened and had smiled when they had seen it had been Leah.

"There you two are," Leah had said. Obviously spotting the the bottle of wine and the paper cups, she had turned around and had grabbed a paper cup then had held it out to Gabriella. "Did you know the Bolton family was so big?"

While Leah and Gabriella had talked about the large Bolton clan, Sharpay had wondered if Troy had told Gabriella what had happened between them. Judging by Gabriella's friendly attitude towards her, Sharpay had guessed he hadn't. She had been even more positive that he hadn't told her when Gabriella had revealed that she had found an engagement ring in his room.

"Excuse me," Sharpay had said, standing up. "I think I'm going to take off, Leah."

"But the party just started," Leah had frowned.

"I don't feel comfortable here," Sharpay had confessed and because she had told Leah every nitty gritty detail, she hadn't embellished any more. "I think it would be best if I left."

"I have an idea," Gabriella had said, standing up. "How about we have a sleepover at Sharpay's house tonight?"

Sharpay had felt like her worst nightmare had come true. As it had been, she could barely deal with the Chad and Troy thing, the last thing she had needed was to have Gabriella under foot all night. She had hoped that Leah would agree, but her best friend had agreed then had asked Sharpay what she had thought.

"I guess," she had said, all the while wanting to yell at Leah. "But I'm still leaving now."

"Can you wait like thirty minutes so I can leave with you?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, sure," Sharpay nodded, even though she didn't want to.

Thirty minutes later, Gabriella and Sharpay had left the winery and had made a couple of stops before they had gotten to Sharpay's place. After going inside, they had both changed into their pajamas and had settled onto the couch.

"So how are you really doing?" Gabriella had asked.

It had been that moment, when Sharpay had looked up and had met Gabriella's caring eyes, that she had realized that Gabriella had been making an effort to be her friend. Not because of Troy or Chad, but because she had wanted to.

"I miss him," Sharpay had answered truthfully, pulling her knees to her chest. "Especially when I'm here alone."

"I know the feeling," Gabriella said had nodded sympathetically. "But what exactly happened between you two?"

Sharpay had studied her finger nails as she had thought about how to answer the question. Part of her had wanted to tell Gabriella the truth, but the other part of her had known that Gabriella needed to hear the truth from Troy. And, selfishly, she hadn't wanted to give Gabriella a reason to hate her again.

"It's complicated," she had finally answered. "But basically, I made a huge mistake that cost me the only guy I want to be with."

"Does he know that?"

"That I want to be with him?" Gabriella had nodded. "No, because I didn't figure out that I loved him until it was too late."

"So tell him."

Gabriella had made it sound so simple, but Sharpay had known it wasn't, she had tried.

"I can't blame him, though, I royally screwed up when -" Sharpay had stopped mid-confession.

"When you slept with Troy," Gabriella had finished for her.

A lump had formed in Sharpay's throat. She hadn't expected that to come out of Gabriella's mouth, especially not after how nice Gabriella had been. She had wondered how much Gabriella knew.

"Troy came clean to me a few weeks ago," Gabriella had explained. "It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but he was honest with me and we've gotten past it." She had shrugged. "I mean, you guys were drunk and it only happened once while he and I weren't together."

There it was, the reason Gabriella had seemed mad about the situation. If only Gabriella had known the whole story, but Sharpay hadn't told her.

"Besides, it's what ultimately made you and Troy realize that you belonged with Chad and Troy belonged with me," Gabriella had continued. "And sure there are other ways you could have figured it out, but at least it wasn't some random hussy that he slept with."

"If you know then why are you being so nice to me?" Sharpay had wondered aloud.

"Because I can tell you need a friend," Gabriella had smiled. "Plus, you told me yourself that you love Chad and that he's the only guy you want to be with. And I know what it's like to feel like you've lost your one true love.

"You and I, we don't know the real Gabriella and Sharpay, but Chad, he's one of my best guy friends and he needs you and I can tell that you need him. You make him happy."

"Maybe the last time you were here, but not anymore."

"I'm here to help you. Together we will figure out a way that Chad can't avoid you and will have to listen to you," Gabriella had vowed as the doorbell had rung.

"In order to listen to me, he has to be in the same room as me," Sharpay had said as she stood up. "And he'll avoid that at all costs."

Opening the front door, she had let Leah in and had apologized for ditching the party.

"It's ok," Leah had said, giving her a hug before going over to sit next to Gabriella on the couch. "So what did I miss?"

"We were plotting on how to get Chad to listen to Sharpay," Gabriella had replied.

Before Leah could respond to Gabriella, Sharpay had suggested they watch a movie. The other two had agreed and she had put "Royal Wedding" into the DVD player before she had sat down next to Leah.

"Well girlies, I should get going," Leah said, standing up. "I have to get married tomorrow." She had given Gabriella a hug then had hugged Sharpay extra tight. "Send me a postcard every week."

"I will," Sharpay had promised. Though she didn't leave until the first June she wouldn't see Leah and Grady until she returned in August.

After cleaning up their mess, Gabriella and Sharpay had gone up stairs and into their respective rooms to go to sleep.

It hadn't been until an hour later when Sharpay had been laying in Chad's bed that she had come up with an idea. She had pulled his sweatshirt on over her pajamas then had tiptoed into her room. As quietly as possible, she had grabbed a stack of notecards from one of her drawers then had gone back into Chad's room and out to the balcony. With a pen in hand, she had rewritten the speech she was supposed to give at the reception and had finished it shortly before dawn.

She had fallen asleep the second her head had hit the pillow and had been woken up a few hours later by Gabriella. While she had showered, Sharpay had let Gabriella read through the speech and had found her friend smiling when she had returned.

"It's perfect," Gabriella had smiled with tears in her eyes. "And there's no possible way he can leave without making a scene."

"My thoughts exactly," Sharpay had smiled.

After Gabriella had left the room, Sharpay had quickly gotten dressed then had grabbed the garment bag with her dress in it. She and Gabriella had driven to the winery and had split up as Gabriella had gone to help Troy's mom and aunts and Sharpay had headed upstairs to help Leah.

"It's beautiful," Leah had smiled after reading the new speech. "There's no way he'll be able to stay away from you."

"Thanks," Sharpay said.

A few hours later, Sharpay had held the bottom of her skirt up with one hand and had helped Leah with the bottom of her dress with the other hand as they had made it down the stairs.

"Let me help you," she had heard Chad say. He had rushed over and had taken a hold of the bottom of Leah's dress, totally ignoring Sharpay's presence, and had helped her down the rest of the stairs.

Sharpay had taken a staggered breath and had blinked back the tears that had threaten to fall. She had told herself to be strong then had descended the rest of the stairs. Attempting to take deep, calming breaths, she had taken her spot in front of Leah as she had waited for her turn to march down the aisle.

During the ceremony, Sharpay had kept her eyes focused on Leah and Grady even though she had desperately wanted to seek out Chad's eyes, but she had known he had been at the back of the crowd and most likely looking anywhere but at her.

Tears had pooled in her eyes as she had watched her best friend exchange vows with Grady and had been the one of the first to whistle when they had shared their first kiss as husband and wife. Slipping her arm through Grady's brother's arm, Sharpay had followed the happy newlyweds up the isle to form a receiving line.

The forty five minutes that had followed had been a blur as Sharpay had met and shaken hands with many of Leah and Grady's family and friends. At the very end of the line, she had seen Chad and Gabriella, she had held her breath as Chad had made his way towards her and had bit the inside of her lip when he had walked right past without saying a word.

Sharpay had held back her emotions then had disappeared up to the bathroom and had been there since, giving herself a pep talk.

The sound of the door opening pulled Sharpay out of her thoughts and she could see Gabriella's reflection in the mirror, giving her a soft smile.

"Everyone is looking for you," Gabriella said as she crossed the room to where Sharpay stood.

"Not everyone," she muttered.

"Especially him," Gabriella stated. "He's hurting just like you are." She put her arm on Sharpay's shoulder. "Once you get out there and tell him how you feel -"

"I can't do it, not here, not in front of everyone," Sharpay said cut her off.

"Yes, you can," Gabriella insisted. "It might be your only chance, Sharpay, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"But what if it doesn't change anything?" Sharpay asked.

"Then I'll take off my knock off Jimmy Choos and throw them at him to knock some sense into him," Gabriella smiled. "Now come on, let's get your make up touched up cause they're waiting for you."

Sharpay nodded and let Gabriella go to work fixing her make up. Then, with arms locked together at the elbow, they went down the stairs together and found Troy at the bottom of the stairs.

"There you are," he said to Gabriella. "I was just looking for you."

"Well you found me," Gabriella smiled.

Sharpay shook her head as she left the couple alone. One thing was certain, Troy didn't deserve Gabriella. That brought a smile to her face; she never thought those words would ever cross her mind in that order.

"If everyone can find a seat we'd like to get started," Grady's brother said into the microphone. "And if the bridal party would please come up onto the stage."

Sharpay made her way forward and took her seat to the right of Leah.

"Are you ok?" Leah asked, quietly.

"As good as I'll ever be," Sharpay replied.

Leah squeezed her hand then turned her attention to Grady.

Sharpay took a deep breath and looked down at the notecards in her hands. Grady's' brother was going to give his speech first and she'd follow him. She kept her eyes on the table, not wanting to look out into the crowd and see Chad. She knew if she made eye contact with him and he looked away, she'd lose what little nerve she had.

"And now, Miss Sharpay Evans, will give a toast to Leah and Grady."

Surprised that Grady's brother's speech had been so quick, Sharpay stood up and looked at Leah and Grady before taking a deep breath.

"Leah and Grady, you guys are two of my best friends. I was there the night you guys met, though let's be honest, I wasn't totally thrilled about it since Grady was Chad's roommate. But you guys were the reason Chad and I went on our first date and you were the reason why we became friends.

"Without you guys, Chad and I wouldn't have ever existed and you've been the foundation that has kept me from hitting rock bottom since things fell apart between me and Chad. You guys have been with me as I've cried and listened to the same stories over and over again. You guys have encouraged me to not lose hope and to take any chance that comes to me to repair the damage that I did. So here's goes, nothing." She took a deep breath then continued.

"Chad Danforth, you hated me in high school, and for good reason, but even that didn't stop you from becoming friends with me in college. You laughed at my over dramatics, you held me when I cried, you made me laugh with your stupid jokes that only make sense to you, but most of all, you let me become the person I want to be. You're my best friend and I love you."

She blinked back her tears as she set her notecards on the table. The words that came out of her mouth next were unscripted, unplanned, but exactly what she wanted to say. "You are the guy for me, Chad. There is no other guy in the entire world that will ever take your place and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

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Stayed tuned for next time to find out what Chad's answer is!!!!!


	12. Epilogue

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I hope you're all enjoying (or enjoyed) your Christmas, I'm really enjoying mine. Check back later to find out what the surprise is.

Extra special Merry Christmas thank you to xdontforget, BluezAvarado, kyw0202 for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Epilogue**

As the last words of her speech echoed through the room, Sharpay let her eyes search the crowd for Chad. They passed over his parents, Troy's parents and family members, but didn't find him. Her eyes sought out Gabriella's and the frown wearing brunette shrugged, as if confirming Sharpay's worst fear: Chad wasn't there.

Knowing what she still had to do, Sharpay picked up her glass of sparkling cider and attempted to keep her emotions in check as she raised the glass and said, "To Leah and Grady."

Instead of taking a sip, Sharpay set her glass down and quickly left the room as tears started to fall. She pushed through the doors leading to the parking lot and sank to the ground on the stair steps. How had this happened? She had laid her heart and soul out in front of his family and friends and he wasn't even in the room. She felt like a fool as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Sharpay?" Hearing his voice, she shot up and turned to look at him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Don't touch me," she snapped when he reached out to her.

"Don't snap at me," he stated. "I have no idea what the hell is going on." He crossed his arms. "I came back from helping Grady's 5-year-old nephew in the men's room to find everyone, practically, glaring at me. Then Leah and Gabriella grabbed my arms and shoved me out of the room and told me to find you."

"It's nothing," Sharpay replied, pushing the tears from her face.

"It wasn't nothing and we both know it," Chad said. "Whatever you said in your speech made mine and Troy's moms cry and obviously whatever it was is making you cry, too."

"I proposed to you, ok?" Sharpay snapped, not looking up at him. She didn't want to see his reaction in case it was a bad one.

"What?" Chad asked, she could hear the confusion in his voice. "Why would you do a silly thing like that?"

"Because I love you," Sharpay replied as more tears threatened to fall. "I know I screwed up with the whole Troy thing, but I love you, Chad."

"You love me?" He repeated. "But what about your love for Troy?"

"I've never loved Troy," Sharpay said, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "I lusted over him and yeah, I _wanted_ him, but I need and want you, Chad Danforth."

"I love you, too, Sharpay Evans," Chad smiled. "Propose to me again?"

She shook her head.

"Oh come on, you can propose to me in front of a hundred people, but you can't do it when it's just us?"

It took a little more encouragement, but she finally reached out and took his hand. "Chad, you've helped me become the person I want to be and you're my best friend. You've made me laugh, you've made me cry. You've been there when I need a hug and been the one person I can turn to for anything. Will you marry me?"

"You left out the part about the awesome sex so I'll have to say no," he teased then pulled an 'ow' face when she slapped his chest. "Damn, I'm just kidding."

"You better be," she stated, pretending to be mad, but failing because a smile threatened to take over her face.

Chad smiled and pulled her body flush against his, pressing his lips against hers.

A couple seconds later, he pulled his lips away by the smallest of margins and whispered, "Yes, I will marry you, Shar." Then he lowered his lips back onto hers.


	13. Deleted Scene 1

And the surprise is here! In fact it will continue until Dec 31st. These are deleted scenes from the first draft of the story and there are 7 of them. Enjoy :-D

**Deleted Scene #1**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 1

**Reason for removing it:** I felt like it slowed down the story and that it wasn't as important to Chad and Sharpay's relationship as things farther down the road. I guess this could be considered an extended scene because I based the similar situation in the final draft off this.

As Grady and Leah's relationship grew stronger and more intimate, Sharpay found herself hanging out with Chad more and more. She wasn't thrilled about the situation at first, because she and Chad had no business being friends. They were two completely different people who had been thrown together because their roommates were dating. The proof of that was that whenever Leah and Grady suggested they all go out and do something, Chad always brought a date and that meant she needed a date so she wouldn't be the fifth wheel.

Enter Tim Walton, a U of A football player who Sharpay met in her health class. He had asked her out once and she had declined, but when she asked him if he wanted to go out a couple weeks later, it seemed all was forgotten. However, she could tell that he was disappointed when he found out they were going out in a group, but he stuck by her for three dates. So when he asked her to go to a party with him, she'd felt obligated to say yes even though it was just going to be the two of them.

On the morning of the party, the idea of going somewhere alone with Tim still didn't sit right with Sharpay. But when Chad voiced that he thought she shouldn't go out with Tim, because he didn't trust him, something snapped and the old Sharpay told him she was going to go with Tim, whether he liked it or not.

The party was at a frat house near campus and Sharpay spent the first hour being drug around the house by Tim, being introduced to other football players and people whose names she would never remember. She started feeling really out of place when Tim and some of the football guys started talking football, so she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

When she came out of the bathroom, Tim was leaning against the wall waiting for her with a red cup in his hand. He tried to pass the drink off as hers, but she knew for a fact that her cup had been blue; instead, she told him she wasn't thirsty. Then he suggested that they go find an empty room and she quickly shot that down.

"Listen you little bitch," he snapped, shoving her against the wall. "I've played along with your little charade for weeks-" his breath smelled like alcohol and he spit on her terrified face as he talked. "-and now you're going to pay me back."

Sharpay tried to scream for help, but he used that to his advantage and shoved his tongue into her mouth, while his hands pinned hers to the wall. The next thing she knew, he was pulled off of her and thrown against the wall and there was Chad.

She waited for Chad to say 'I told you so,' but instead he took her hand and lead her out of the house and away from the party.

"Are you ok?" He finally spoke when they reached her dorm.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Good." He started to walk away, but she grabbed his hand.

"Why'd you do that Chad?"

"I told you, I don't trust him," he stated.

"Six months ago you would have said the same thing about me," she pointed out.

"Six months ago we were in high school, Sharpay," he stated. "We're in college now and-"

"My roommate is dating yours," she finished for him.

"That and believe it or not, you're one of the only people I trust here," he said. "We may not like the way things have ended up, but at least we already knew each other."


	14. Deleted Scene 2

Hey hey all! I do know about the rest of you guys, but I'm still in the Christmasy mood. I actually just got home from a holiday party/family reunion. It was a lot of fun, I saw relatives that I haven't seen since before my 18-year-old brother was born. I really hope this becomes a tradition and that everyone comes next time (we're an Irish family and my grandma, her brother and her sister have 11 kids between them...you do the math...there's a lot of us).

Anyway, enjoy the deleted scene.

Special thanks to xzanessaforeverxG and xdontforget for reviewing the last chapter.

**Deleted Scene #2**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 3

**Reason for removing it:** As much as I liked the idea of bringing out Sharpay's love of Christmas time, I didn't think it was vital to the story and actually took away from the Chadpay plot so I had to cut it. This was the original beginning of the chapter.

Ever since she was a little girl, Sharpay had loved Christmas: the lights, the decorations, the songs, the movies, the presents, the cookies, the stories; but what she loved the most about Christmas time was all the plays put on by beautiful actors, actresses, dancers and singers. Her parents had taken her and Ryan to their first Christmas play when they were 5 and Sharpay (and her brother) had fallen in love with it.

Every year after that it was an Evans family tradition to go see the Christmas plays and pageants in the area, but Sharpay's favorites were always the ones put on by the drama department at the University of Albuquerque. Even as a child, she would watch the dancers and actors and long to do what they were doing.

After spending the summer before freshman year abroad honing her acting skills, Sharpay couldn't wait to try out for the Christmas play and be the inspiration for some little girl's dream. She spent most of the fall semester preparing for her audition, but the morning of it, her mom called and told her they were going to New York City for Christmas, because Ryan was dancing in a modern non-ballet version of the Nutcracker.

Broken hearted, Sharpay had skipped the play auditions and had been drowning her sorrows in a tub of chocolate frosting when Leah found her. After listening to Sharpay's sob story, it had been Leah who reminded Sharpay of all excitement that was New York City at Christmas time. By the end of the night, they had researched the plays and other events that Sharpay could check out while she was there. In the end, Sharpay had enjoyed New York City and Ryan's performance had been beautiful, but it made her wish that she had been a part of one too.

For the next year, she practiced, wanting to be the best when auditions came around again. She held her breath when her mom called the morning of her audition and breathed a sigh of relief when her mom said that Ryan was coming home for Christmas this year and looking forward to seeing his sister on stage.

On opening night, Sharpay put her heart and soul into her role as a part shop assistant and part chorus member. When she walked off stage after her final number, she wore a big grin on her face and helped the other cast members get ready for their next scene. When the curtain went down after the curtain call, she helped clean up then went to change out of her costume.

She excited the backstage area with a couple friends and came to a complete stop when she saw her family, Kelsi, and Chad waiting for her. She gave her parents each a hug the got a bouquet of roses from Ryan before she hugged him. She gave Kelsi a hug then smiled at Chad, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Her parents treated them all to dessert at Dairy Queen then Chad and Sharpay went home and to their own rooms to go to sleep.


	15. Deleted Scene 3

Here's the next deleted scene. I really hated to take it out but I had to. The original draft of Chapter 3 was upwards of 3,000 words and all the other chapters were right around 1,000. Hope you guys like it.

**Deleted Scene #3**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 3

**Reason for removing it:** This is more of an extended scene than a deleted scene. I loved the bantering between Chad and Troy in this but it was just too long so I trimmed it down. This takes place right after Sharpay eavesdrops on Troy and Chad's conversation the morning after the final performance.

When things got quiet, Sharpay decided it was time to make her presence known. She finished coming down the stairs then walked into the kitchen where they were standing. "Morning," she greeted.

"Morning," they chorused.

"So, Sharpay, what are you doing today?" Troy asked her.

"Got some presents to wrap and I gotta go to the laundry mat," she replied.

"Speaking of the laundry mat, I left some quarters on my dresser for the machines," Chad told her. "And I put my laundry in my bag."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!" Troy exclaimed. "Please tell me she doesn't do your laundry, too."

"We take turns," Chad replied.

"Gabriella and I are dating and she makes me do my own laundry," Troy stated.

"That's cause you live with her mom and have a washer and dryer to use for free," Chad stated. "Where as we have to go to the laundry mat to do ours."

"Wait, Troy and Gabriella live with her mom?" Sharpay laughed.

"The housing market is very expensive," Troy defended himself. "And Gabriella and I are saving money to move out." He crossed his arms. "Besides, I live in an apartment over the garage."

"Still counts as living with Gabriella's mom," Chad teased.

"Shut up," Troy retorted.

"So what are you two boys up to today?" Sharpay asked. "Because I swear to God, Chad, if you come home all dusty and dirty from playing in that goddamn junk yard, you'll do your own laundry."

"No need to go there, Betsy went caput this fall," Troy said, putting his hand over his heart. "She was a good truck."

"She was an evil truck," Chad retorted. "And don't worry, Shar, we're not going to the junkyard, we're going shopping."

"You should come with us," Troy suggested. "God knows Chad needs all the help he can get when it comes to buying his mom a present."

"Says the one who buys his mom giftcards," Chad scoffed. "At least I get my mom something she can use."

"Oh yeah, cause a mug that says 'Wicked Cool Mom' is just what your mom wanted," Troy rolled his eyes.

"You gave your mom the gift you got from the White Elephant party?!" Sharpay shrieked.

"I wasn't going to use it," Chad shrugged. "And I'll have you both know that it was her favorite mug."

"_Was_?" Troy and Sharpay questioned.

"Connor and Carter broke it," Chad replied. "They were playing ball in the house and hit it. Mom grounded them for like two weeks."

"And probably paid them five bucks," Troy snickered. "So how do you plan to top last year's prefect present?"

"Actually, I -"

"No, no, no, no, no," Sharpay cut Chad off as soon as she released where he was going. "You are not getting your mom an identical mug." She turned to look at Troy. "I'm assuming you got or are planning to get your mom a giftcard, right?" Troy nodded. "Well if you've already gotten the giftcard, get ready to spend it."

"You're going shopping with us?" Chad asked her.

"Damn straight," she nodded her head. "Who knows what you would get your mom if I wasn't around to help."

"You're the best, Shar," Chad said giving her a hug.

"I know, I know," she smiled. "Let me go get my purse then we can get this shopping operation done."

"Nothing going on, huh?" She heard Troy ask as she went upstairs.

"Go wait in the car," Chad retorted.


	16. Deleted Scene 4

Today was such a great day haha My brother bought a Wii (or rather he's going to be buying it from the guy when they both get back from Basic Training but we have it now) and I seriously just played for like 4 hours. It was super fun...though I don't know how fun it will be tomorrow morning... we'll see how much pain I'm in.

Anyway, here's the deleted scene for today.

**Deleted Scene #4**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 4

**Reason for removing it:** I loved this moment between Mrs. Bolton and Sharpay, but it just didn't go with the story. If the plot had been different or if Sharpay had gotten sick I probably would have left this in, but it really didn't make sense to do so.

When they got to Troy's parents' house, his mom invited Chad and Sharpay to stay for dinner.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay asked her.

"Absolutely," Mrs. Bolton nodded. "It's been a long time since Troy and Chad have both been here for dinner and any friend of Chad's is welcome here."

"She won't take no for an answer," Chad whispered to Sharpay.

"Alright, I'll stay, but only if you let me help," Sharpay said.

"You drive a hard bargain, but deal," Mrs. Bolton smiled. "Jack help Troy take his stuff to his room; Chad, hang up Sharpay's stuff in the closet."

"Yes mom," the boys chorused.

Sharpay took off her coat, gave it to Chad then followed Troy's mom into the kitchen.

"How are you at making salads?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"Expert."

"Excellent, the ingredients are in the fridge, feel free to use anything you find in there."

As Sharpay put together the salad, she admired the courage Mrs. Bolton had. Here she was three days or so shy of finding out she had breast cancer and she remained the same strong woman Sharpay had known her as.

"How do you do it?" Sharpay asked her.

"Do what?" Mrs. Bolton asked, turning to look at her.

"You seem so strong and condiment for someone who just found out they have cancer."

"Thank you."

"I don't understand."

"_I_ have cancer, cancer _doesn't_ have me. I refuse to let cancer dictate my life and because of that, I have to be strong."

"But don't you want to cry?"

"I have cried and I do cry, but at the end of the day crying will only leave me with a red nose and puffy eyes; so why waste time crying when I can be fighting?"

"You're a very wise woman, Mrs. Bolton."

"Thank you, but please, call me Lucy." Mrs. Bolton set down a spoon and walked over to Sharpay. "Now, let me ask you something just between us girls -"

"Is this your sneaky attempt to ask what's going on between me and Chad?"

"Am I that transparent?"

"No, that just seems to be the question everybody asks."

"Alright, so tell me, what is going on between you two?"

"Nothing, we're just really good friends."

"You know, Jack and I were once just really good friends and now look at us."

"Well sometimes times just really good friends become more," Sharpay shrugged. "And sometimes they don't."

"Well my nephew and son seem to think you two are up to something."

"Who's up to something?" Chad asked as he came into the kitchen.

"Nobody," Sharpay replied. "Is the game over?"

"Nope, I just got tired of Troy and Coach nagging me about you," Chad shrugged. "Figured I could at least make myself useful and set the table."

"How thoughtful," Mrs. Bolton smiled. "You know where everything is."


	17. Deleted Scene 5

Ugh the ground is covered in snow. After last year's epic snow storm and our 30+ hours without power, I don't care to see snow for another 5 years... hopefully it'll melt tonight and stay away.

Anyway, here's today's deleted scene.

**Deleted Scene #5**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 4

**Reason for removing it:** This is another one of those sections where I was really amused but had to cut because it wasn't necessary for the Chadpay or Troypay plot line.

Two days later, Sharpay found herself sandwiched between Troy and Grady at the basketball game.

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd actually be at a basketball game and know what was going on," Troy's voice rumbled in her ear. "It doesn't seem possible."

"Well I had a great coach," Sharpay smiled, looping her arm through Grady's. "He spent all last season explaining the game to me and Leah."

"And nearly pulled my hair out in the process," Grady teased. "But by the end of the season they finally figured it out."

"Well, tell Leah thanks for letting me have her ticket," Troy shouted over the roar of the crowd. "It was awesome of her."

"She only comes because we come," Sharpay informed Troy. "She'd rather be home watching a movie or taking a bubble bath, which is probably what she's doing now."

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked his cousin.

"I'm skipping the after party," Grady grinned. "So don't sweat your pretty head, cuz."

"You're the pretty one," Troy retorted.

"You're both pretty, now shut up before I call your mom and Leah," Sharpay threatened.

"Yes ma'am," they muttered.


	18. Deleted Scene 6

Tomorrow is the last day of the year... it just doesn't seem possible. Tomorrow is also the last day of the He Could Be the One updates, but have no fear, you get two updates tomorrow. I'm going to try and post the deleted scene in the morning and a drabble in the afternoon/evening.

**Deleted Scene #6**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 7

**Reason for removing it:** This is another one of those amusing little ditties that just didn't work for the final draft of the story because it was too detailed for a story that's mostly told as a memory. I had a really hard time cutting this section and it's actually what made me decide to do the deleted scenes.

When Sharpay woke up the next morning, she went downstairs to get coffee and found Gabriella and Chad talking.

"I'm sorry Troy and I skipped out on dinner," Gabriella said.

"You guys had business to attend to," Chad stated.

"Well the four of us should do something tonight," Gabriella said. "Maybe we could go out to dinner."

"It's Valentine's Day," Sharpay stated. "Any place worth eating is booked solid."

"Oh, well maybe I can make dinner for us," Gabriella said. "It's the least I can do for letting me stay with you guys."

"I'd go for that," Chad stated. "You might even get Sharpay to make one of her 'fabulous' salads."

"Funny," Sharpay rolled her eyes. "But we both know what happens to my salads in the middle of the night."

"What happens?" Gabriella asked.

"Mr. I-Don't-Like-Salads eats them for midnight snacks," Sharpay replied.

"That's all there's there," Chad defended himself. "It's either salad and tofu and I wouldn't touch tofu with a ten foot pole."

"How do you know I don't put tofu in the salads?" Sharpay asked, innocently.

"You wouldn't," Chad's face paled.

"What if I already did?"

"I'm going to go shower then go to the library," Chad said. "Don't let her put tofu in anything!"

"I don't think I've ever seen him leave so quickly," Gabriella laughed. "I'd love your help if you want to."

"Sure," Sharpay replied as she took out the container labeled tofu out of the fridge and opened it. "Cookie?"

"You're sneaky," Gabriella laughed as she took out a cookie.

"Just protecting my stash," Sharpay smiled. "As soon as he's out of the shower, I'll take one and get dressed so we can go to the grocery store."


	19. Deleted Scene 7

Here's the last deleted scene :-D I really hope you guys enjoyed them. I'll be posting the drabble later today.

**Deleted Scene #7**

**From:** First draft of Chapter 10

**Reason for removing it:** This deleted scene starts right after Leah gets to Sharpay's house after the rehearsal dinner. It was one I added at the last second during the first draft, but I eventually deleted because I was having a hard time working the base story into the earlier chapters.

"It's ok," Leah said, giving her a one armed hug. "So are you ready to wish I was marrying you tomorrow and not Grady?"

"Uh, yeah," Sharpay nodded.

"You're my maid-of-honor, so I'm leaving my prized classic musical DVD collection in your caring hands while I'm on my honeymoon," Leah said, bringing the large CD case out from behind her. "Take care of my babies."

"I will take good care of them," Sharpay promised as Leah handed over the case.

"So what did I miss?" Leah asked sitting down next to Gabriella.

"We were plotting on how to get Chad to listen to Sharpay," Gabriella replied.

"Do you guys mind if we watch a movie?" Sharpay asked, before Leah could respond to Gabriella.

"Only if it's Royal Wedding," Leah stated before turning to Gabriella. "That was the first movie Sharpay and I watched together, right after my first date with Grady."

"I knew you were going to suggest it," Sharpay said, holding up the DVD. She put it in the DVD player then grabbed the tissues from the kitchen and put them on the coffee table.

By the end of the movie, all three of them were dabbing their eyes with tissues.

"Well girlies, I should get going," Leah said, standing up. "I have to get married tomorrow."

Sharpay and Gabriella gave her hugs then cleaned up the left over junkfood.


	20. Drabble sequel of sorts

Happy (Almost) New Years everyone! I still have 6 hours and 10 minutes to go until 2010, but I wanted to get this posted before I forgot. This is, sadly, the final update for the He Could Be the One story. My original plan was to write a short story from Chad's perspective that went from him finding out about Troy and Sharpay to the wedding where he and Sharpay finally get back together, but I just couldn't get it going. But I was working on drabbles one day and this one just came to me. So here ya go.

P.S. I want to give a extra special thank you to everyone who reviewed this story: kyw0202 (x10), BluezAvarado (x9), xdontforget (x9), xsolitaryx-xsmilex (x2), MissCar (x2), LivinAlilLoopie, plasticlittlespastic and xzanessaforeverxG

* * *

**They were in love, engaged and on their way to London for the summer. Their family and friends had been thrilled with the announcement that he had accepted her marriage proposal.**

**He was in the seat next to her, sleeping like she should be, but she couldn't sleep. Every time she looked over at him, she was reminded of how lucky she was to have him back. She knew she still had to regain his trust, but she was willing to do anything he asked her to. In her mind, as long as they were together everything would be fine.**

* * *

So that was really short, so I thought I'd go ahead and share some of the ideas I had for the short story

- Chad was going to find out about Troy's aggressiveness towards Sharpay from Leah and he was going to threaten Troy's life if he went around Sharpay again and told Troy they weren't friends anymore

- He was going to move in with a teammate because he didn't want to have to answer his mom's questions

- He was struggling with trying to figure out what to do about Sharpay because he wanted to be with her even though she had been with Troy and he wasn't sure what to do about it all

- He was going to spend the summer in England, playing basketball

- He would eventually decide that he and Sharpay needed to take a break from each other and that he would talk to her once he got back from England

- It would end with them on the plane, just like what happens in the drabble


End file.
